The Cost Of Being Unfaithful
by kphillips
Summary: Mulder and Scully once again go undercover as man and wife when a series of murders occur in one particular neighborhood under circumstances that make even Fox Mulder squirm a bit.
1. Have I Got A Case For You

The Cost Of Being Unfaithful - by K. Phillips  
  
Disclaimer Info: Thanks to CC for letting me borrow his characters for a little while. I promise not to hurt them.  
  
Spoilers: None really - expects a basic knowledge of the relationship between Scully and Mulder and refers to Arcadia a bit in passing.  
  
Keywords: Supernatural story involving Mulder and Scully with perhaps a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure  
  
Rating: R - the overall subject matter is not suitable for children but I promise you there will be no smut (it may be implied a bit though)  
  
Feedback - would love it. Email me at xfstories@yahoo.com  
  
Summary: Mulder and Scully once again go undercover as man and wife when a series of murders occur in one particular neighborhood under circumstances that make even Fox Mulder squirm a bit.  
  
Chapter One - Have I Got A Case For You  
  
Assistant Director Skinner looked a bit uncomfortable as he ushered his two wayward agents into his office and motioned for them to sit down.  
  
"Good evening Agents" he started "Thank you for staying late to meet with me."  
  
Mulder nodded his acknowledgement already suspicious of the courteous manner with which Skinner was addressing them.  
  
"You two have been hand picked to work on an unusual case out in Minnesota."  
  
Skinner paused a second and then continued. "There have been a series of incidents all within a particular neighborhood and you two are going to go undercover to check it out."  
  
Scully frowned thinking this case sounded a bit like the one in Arcadia they had worked on months before.  
  
Skinner saw her frowning and continued his description of the case. "Apparently there a lot of career couples living there. You know the types, lots of money, no children, always looking for some excitement."  
  
The two agents said nothing just looking at him. "Well, these couples seem to find their excitement by.hum.by.swapping.hum.partners." Skinner finally blurted out.  
  
Mulder's mouth fell open and Scully's eyes got huge. She regained her composure enough to ask Skinner a question. "No offense Sir, but besides being quite distasteful, what type of crime is being committed."  
  
Skinner thought a moment before answering. "As I said before, several incidents have occurred in the neighborhood. Several of the participants have been found dead."  
  
At this Mulder chimed in "Jealous spouses?"  
  
"We think not"  
  
Scully was looking more annoyed by the minute. "Excuse me Sir, but why give this case to us. It sounds like a case for Violent Crimes."  
  
"Under normal circumstances it would be - but for one thing."  
  
"And that is?" Scully asked  
  
"That the victims were all found to have no external injuries, but upon closer examination, it was discovered that their hearts had been removed."  
  
"Must have been very jealous spouses" Mulder muttered under his breath.  
  
Skinner gave him a dirty look but continued. "Your mission is to go undercover as a married couple moving into the neighborhood. You are to try to work your way into the confidence of the members of the partner swapping group and see if you can find the murderer."  
  
Mulder raised his eyebrows at the prospects of this particular undercover case. Scully still frowned. "I know this case sounds somewhat like an X- file Sir, but wouldn't it make more sense to send in partners who are already married."  
  
Skinner nodded. "We thought about that but rejected all those agents."  
  
"Why?" Mulder asked curious as to why they were picked.  
  
Skinner looked a bit sheepish when replying "Basically because we thought you two would have a better chance of being propositioned."  
  
"I see" Scully said with her voice sounding a bit like steel. "If you'll excuse me Sir, I have some paperwork to finish up before Mulder and I leave."  
  
"Very well Agent Scully, I look forward to reading your field reports."  
  
Mulder waited until she had shut the door before commenting "I bet you are Sir. How often can you get paid to read smut?"  
  
Skinner shot him a dirty look and then smiled. "Agent Mulder, can I tell you something off the record?"  
  
"Of course Sir."  
  
"I actually requested this assignment for you and Agent Scully so you two could finally have a chance to be together in a public setting."  
  
"Excuse me Sir, I am not getting your meaning. Are you saying that you think that Scully and I have a physical relationship going?"  
  
Skinner squirmed a bit in his chair looking thoroughly embarrassed as Mulder went to great lengths to ensure him that his relationship with Scully was plutonic.  
  
"You mean to tell me that you have been working with her for all these years and not once have you made a move on her?" Skinner looked at him closely "Are you gay Mulder?"  
  
"No" Mulder said trying not to sound too offended. "It is not as if I haven't thought about it - who wouldn't - but I really don't think Scully is all that interested."  
  
Skinner just smiled at him not believing that Mulder could be so blind. "Is that so Mulder? Well then you had better watch yourself on this case Agent Mulder or Agent Scully is going to chew you up and spit you out."  
  
Skinner shook his head and chuckled to himself after Mulder left his office still not quite believing what Mulder had just told him. "Well" he said to himself "we'll see how plutonic you two are after this case."  
  
Scully sat down in their office staring blankly at the computer screen in front of her. She still couldn't believe that she was being sent off on yet another case where she had to pretend to be Mulder's wife.  
  
Doing it for the case in Arcadia had been a bit trying and this case seemed like it was going to be even more difficult.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted when Mulder came into the room. He shut the door behind it and started laughing.  
  
"What's so funny" Scully said looking up at him puzzled.  
  
"It's Skinner. Would you believe that he actually thought that you and I were doing 'it'?"  
  
"It?"  
  
"You know, the dance of love. He actually assigned us to this case so we could do it guilt free. Isn't that hysterical?"  
  
Scully didn't join in the laughter but turned her attention back to her computer screen.  
  
Sensing that he had done something to offend her, yet again, he walked over to her desk and leaned against it.  
  
"What's wrong Scully?" he said softly.  
  
Scully started to tell him that she was fine but decided against it. "It is rather hurtful that you find the thought of doing 'it' with me so funny."  
  
"Scully, I didn't mean it that way."  
  
She cut him off "Of course this is the perfect case for you. You can drag me along to some party and then proceed to pick up some long legged blonde and screw her - all while getting paid by the US government."  
  
Mulder eyebrows drew together as he tried to figure out exactly where that comment had come from. "Scully? What is going on here? If I didn't know better, I would say you were jealous."  
  
She really glared at him then. "In your dreams Mulder" and with that comment she rose from her desk, picked up her bag and left the room with Mulder standing there with his mouth open.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++ End of chapter one - love it? Hate it? Let me know! 


	2. I Now Pronounce You Man And Wife

Chapter Two - I Now Pronounce You Man and Wife  
  
Mulder sat on the small bench outside Skinner's office waiting for Scully to arrive. He had thought about calling her several times since she had stormed out of their office, but had decided against it. He knew his partner and when she was this annoyed, the best thing was to let her be.  
  
Scully arrived just in time to be led into Skinner's office. She barely glanced at Mulder as she strode past him and took a seat at the conference table.  
  
Skinner was already situated there and to his right sat a drop dead gorgeous blonde.  
  
She was the last thing Scully needed to see. But Scully secured her professional posture on and sat down - several seats away from Mulder.  
  
Skinner noticed the subtle tension between the two partners and regretted for a moment he decision to assign them to this case. He was particularly fond of the two of them and hoped that he hadn't jeopardized their partnership.  
  
"Good morning Agents, I would like you to meet Lydia Bennett. She is the one who brought the murders to our attention. She used to live in the Berkley neighborhood."  
  
Both agents nodded their acknowledgements to Lydia and began questioning her.  
  
Scully asked direct questions concerning where she lived in Berkley, how long she had lived there and what had made her come to the FBI.  
  
"Well Agent Scully, I lived in Berkley pretty much since getting out of grad school. Steve and I moved there as soon as we got married."  
  
Scully nodded for her to continue. "We both had great jobs and made a good amount of money. We looked all around Minneapolis for the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood and thought we found it in Berkley."  
  
"It was perfect until we started hanging out with some of the other professional couples in the neighborhood."  
  
"Go on" Mulder said when it looked like Lydia was going to hesitate.  
  
"In the beginning we were thrilled to be making so many new friends. There seemed to be a party at someone's house practically everyday. Nothing too fancy - a cocktail party here, a wine and cheese party there. We all worked really hard at our jobs and looked forward to getting together to unwind."  
  
"After a couple of weeks, we noticed that the themes became a little bit more outrageous. People started arriving wearing more provocative clothing and then one night, everything changed."  
  
Lydia looked down at the ground and took a deep breath. "It was like something was in the water - everyone just got really, really...hmmm.horny. They started making out with whoever was around at the time. Husbands and wives stuck together or picked out new partners. Women started going down on other woman with the men cheering them on."  
  
Skinner and Mulder exchanged a subtle glance at this and shifted a bit uncomfortably in their seats. Both were very happy to be wearing their suits jackets that would hide any embarrassing signs that they were enjoying Lydia's story a bit too much.  
  
There was no sign of Scully being affected by Lydia's story and she encouraged her to continue. "Did you participate in all of this" she asked softly with no sound of judgment in her voice.  
  
Lydia blushed a bit and nodded. "I have no idea why I did, but I just jumped into the fray along with everyone else. I don't even remember who I ended up with that time."  
  
"That time - how often did this occur?" Scully said her eyes widening a bit.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Two or three times a week. Maybe more maybe less."  
  
Mulder finally blocked enough mental images from his mind to ask a question "So why did you stop going to these parties?"  
  
"About three months ago, Roger - the head of the neighborhood association - decided to throw a massive party at his house. He always threw the best parties. But anyway, I was having wicked PMS and terrible cramps so I sent Steve off without me. I guess I missed a heck of a party because Steve told me the next day that the police had been called to the house by one of the elderly neighbors down the street."  
  
"I assume this neighbor had not been invited?" Mulder said smiling.  
  
"You assume right Agent Mulder." Lydia said smiling back. "Only the young and the beautiful are invited. You two will fit in nicely."  
  
Scully ignored the compliment "what happened then Ms. Bennett?"  
  
"Oh yes, well the police came and broke up the party and everyone went home. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Tim (who lived down the street from us) was found dead."  
  
"Any idea what Tim was doing at the party?"  
  
Lydia blushed a bit. "From what I heard, he was trying to take on four women at one time."  
  
Skinner and Mulder shifted again trying to block out yet another exciting mental image.  
  
"Did that stop you from going to any more parties?"  
  
"For a while everyone kept a low profile but a couple of weeks later things started hopping again. This time it was Steve who seemed to been the most active. One of the guys had bet him that he couldn't get laid more than 5 times throughout the evening. I think he made it to 6 but was dead before morning."  
  
"No wonder" Mulder thought to himself figuring that no man could withstand that much activity. He stifled the thought and asked "What killed your husband Ms. Bennett?"  
  
"No one seems to know. I found him in a crumpled heap in the hall near the front door. He looked perfectly fine except he wasn't breathing. I called 911 and they came almost immediately but couldn't get a pulse on him. It was until the x-rayed him at the hospital did they discover that his heart was missing."  
  
"I know this is difficult for you, but do you know what his autopsy revealed?" Scully asked quietly.  
  
"Autopsy? They didn't do one on him, it was his wish to be cremated and that was done within a day or two of his death."  
  
"I moved away shortly after I buried him but came to you only after two more men had died. It just seemed to be too much of a coincidence"  
  
"I know this may seem like a rather stupid question" Scully said hiding her disappointment about the lack of autopsy results "but why did these parties continue even after people seemed to be getting murdered?"  
  
Lydia smiled sadly. "It was like we were addicted to them. We craved the excitement, the attention, the love. What we got seemed to justify the risk."  
  
"I see" Scully said not seeing at all.  
  
Skinner, who managed to finally get his lower body back into order, asked Lydia to describe in detail how Mulder and Scully should look and act to get themselves included in these parties.  
  
Lydia looked both partners over carefully and smiled. "They will have no trouble. We haven't had a red head around in quite some time and the women are always looking for new blood."  
  
Lydia then talked about what type of behavior would be expected from them and how they should dress. Both agents didn't say a word during this part of the conversation but seemed to both be very interested in their legal pads.  
  
Skinner thanked Lydia for her time and sent his agents from his office with orders to be in Minnesota within the next couple of days. A house in the neighborhood had been rented for them and they were to proceed there as soon as they had their cover stories in place.  
  
Scully still seemed to be unusually quiet as they left Skinner's office but agreed to meet up at Mulder's apartment that evening to work on their cover story.  
  
Scully headed off to review the victims' medical records and try to dig up any autopsy reports there might be and Mulder planned to return to the basement to finish up some paperwork.  
  
Before Scully could leave, Mulder reached out and stopped her. "Scully?" he said with a look of concern on his face.  
  
The frown on Scully's face softened a bit. "I am fine Mulder. I will see you at seven."  
  
Scully tried to concentrate on the reports in front of her, but was having quite a bit of difficulty. She had been on a wide array of cases with her partner, but this one was probably going to be the most challenging.  
  
How was she supposed to look like she was in love with Mulder, try to pick up other men without succeeding, she hoped, investigate a murder undercover while have to watch Mulder seduce every woman in the room.  
  
She knew she had deep feelings for Mulder, so that part would be easy. The only difficult part there would be to stuff those feelings away again after the case was over. But she would worry about that later.  
  
The rest of her assignment she dreaded - some parts more than others. She was relatively confident that she could attract the members of the opposite sex - even if her feminine charm didn't work on Mulder - but she thought she might just tear the head off of any woman who went near Mulder.  
  
Mulder too spent some time thinking about the assignment. Part of it seemed like the answer to every male's fantasy. How many guys would turn down the opportunity to be with a variety of women with no strings attached?  
  
"Frohike is going to kill me when he hears about this case" Mulder smiled to himself and he put away the last of the files sitting on his desk.  
  
Mulder also knew that this case would be harder on him than he liked to admit. He would have to act interested in a lot of different women, when the only woman he wanted tried to pick up men in front of his very eyes.  
  
Mulder was also worried about Scully's current state of mind. He was used to her being mad at him, they had their little squabbles all the time, but this seemed different and he wasn't sure why. He would have to try to get her to open up tonight.  
  
Looking at his watch, he noticed it was nearly 5:30. He would have barely enough time to pick up Scully's favorite takeout and a bottle of wine before she arrived at his apartment.  
  
Scully arrived at Mulder's promptly at seven and Mulder quickly realized that her mood had not improved much. She no longer appeared to be angry with him but seemed to be constantly lost in her own thoughts.  
  
They ate the Indian food Mulder had bought in relative silence. Mulder didn't even bring up the case until they were done eating and Scully was on her second glass of wine.  
  
"Scully, I stopped by Skinner's office on the way out today and Kim gave me our documents for our cover story. She told me that you had picked out our names - just as we agreed after Arcadia."  
  
Scully smiled slightly "I hope you don't mind being called Richard."  
  
"Not at all. Why did you pick that name?"  
  
Scully looked a bit sheepish. "Well, you always reminded me a bit of Richard Gere."  
  
"And the name Jodi for yourself - is that because I teased you about being like Jodi Foster after we rented Silence of the Lambs that time?"  
  
Scully nodded smiling a bit more. "So what do what do Mr. and Mrs. Buckland do for a living?"  
  
Mulder opened the folder and took a peak. "Jodi Buckland is a research scientist working on synthetic polymers." He looked up at Scully "Very impressive"  
  
He looked back at the folder "Richard is a novelist specializing in Sci-Fi stories involving outer space."  
  
Scully laughed at this. "Who came up with these?"  
  
"I think Skinner did. I never knew he had sense of humor."  
  
Mulder paused a minute and then continued. "The Bucklands have been married four no make that five years now. They are both so devoted to their work that their personal relationship has suffered."  
  
Scully nodded adding "They have no lives outside of their work and are looking for a little fun."  
  
Mulder then began to fumble around in his pocket. He took out a box and opened it. Inside sat two wedding rings and a large engagement ring.  
  
Scully paled a bit at the sight of the rings but nodded when Mulder said "May I?"  
  
He slipped the rings on Scully's fingers not letting go of her hand immediately. "I don't know Scully, if I were Richard and had a wife like Jodi, I don't think I would ever look elsewhere for fun."  
  
Scully blushed a little at this and Mulder quickly realized that things were getting way too serious. "At least Richard has good taste in jewelry. That is quite a rock you have on your finger."  
  
Scully smiled and said quietly. "We should probably set up some ground rules now."  
  
"Rules?"  
  
"Yes, rules. What is acceptable behavior on both of our parts."  
  
Mulder just looked at her. She felt a bit nervous but continued "You know we are supposed to be married. I want it to be as authentic as possible but I don't want it to make things strange between us. Does that make any sense to you?"  
  
Mulder smiled kindly at her. "Don't worry Scully, we will go by whatever rules you want."  
  
Scully nodded and stood up. "I really should get going. We have an early flight tomorrow morning."  
  
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay here and consummate our marriage?" Mulder said looking suggestively at his bedroom door.  
  
Scully gave him a half-hearted glare. "It's tempting Mulder, but unless I get home and pack, Jodi will have nothing to wear."  
  
Mulder smiled and opened the door for Scully to leave. As she was walking down the hall towards the elevator he yelled behind her "Tell Jodi to pack her black sleeveless shirt. The one that makes all the men at work drool."  
  
Scully pushed the elevator button and smiled back at Mulder. "Good night Mulder."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
End of Chapter two - comments anyone 


	3. Welcome To The Neighborhood

Chapter Three - Welcome To The Neighborhood  
  
Richard and Jodi Buckland arrived at their new house shortly after one o'clock the following afternoon.  
  
Pulling into the driveway Mulder was relieved to find no neighbors waiting for their arrival. He turned off the key and turned to Scully "At least we don't have to worry about our neighbors helping us move in this time."  
  
"Thank goodness" Scully said stepping out the car.  
  
The house that had been rented for them was a cute little blue Cape with a well manicured lawn and a large perennial garden.  
  
"Looks pretty nice" Mulder said walking up to the door holding his suitcase. "Shall I carry you over the threshold?"  
  
Scully shot him a dirty look and brushed past him through the door. The inside of the house was pleasantly furnished. A quick look around by Scully found two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, family room and large eat-in kitchen. It was the perfect house for a professional couple.  
  
While Scully was exploring the house, Mulder brought in several large trunks. They were in actually filled with very little, but Mulder and Scully wanted to give the impression that they were staying for more than just a week or so.  
  
Scully joined up with Mulder in the kitchen. He was standing in front of the open refrigerator holding a carton of orange juice in his hand. He looked at Scully a bit guiltily.  
  
"Great, they supplied us with food too." Scully said peering into the fridge. "Mulder, don't drink out of the carton"  
  
Mulder looked at the open carton in his hand and at Scully and promptly began looking for a glass.  
  
He poured some juice into the glass and drank it down in one long swallow. He gave Scully a small smile. "My name is Richard, remember?" he said teasingly.  
  
Scully was about to come back with a proper retort when there was a knock on the front door. Scully and Mulder looked at each and went out to the main hallway to see how it was.  
  
Standing on their front stoop stood a very attractive man well over six feet tall with sandy brown hair and huge brown bedroom eyes.  
  
Scully took one look at him and started to see what the appeal of the sex parties could be.  
  
The man thrust out his hand to Mulder who was standing in the doorway with his arm draped casually over Scully.  
  
"Roger Metcalf" the man said pumping Mulder's hand. "President of the neighborhood association. I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood."  
  
"Thank you" Mulder said "I am Richard Buckland and this is my wife Jodi."  
  
Roger shook Scully's hand and she could feel the electricity flow from him. "This guy is a chick magnet" she thought to herself after she was released from his grip.  
  
"Tuesday night is when we usually meet up by my pool. We throw some stuff on the grill, have a couple of frozen drinks and take a dip in the pool. Do you think you could swing by and join us or are you too tired from your trip here?"  
  
Mulder and Scully exchanged a quick glance and then Mulder said "Sure we would love to - what can we bring?"  
  
"Not a thing. We would never think of asking you to bring something on your first day here."  
  
Roger left shortly after that and Scully and Mulder went back into the house.  
  
"They don't waste much time" Mulder said after the door was shut.  
  
"No they don't" Scully agreed. "I had better go unpack my clothes and dig out my bathing suit."  
  
"Me too" Mulder said following Scully upstairs into the bedroom.  
  
They worked in silence as they both put away their own clothes. The house had two bedrooms but they decided to use only one just in case one of the neighbors stopped by and started snooping around.  
  
Sleeping arrangements had yet to be discussed, but both assumed that Scully would take the bed and Mulder would bunk out on the couch the way he did at home. They assumed people would think he had fallen asleep in front of the television set if they spotted him through the living room window.  
  
"So Scully, or should I say Jodi, any thoughts about the little party tonight."  
  
"Not much besides the fact that I am dead tired and that I would rather curl up with a good book than make small talk with the beautiful people of Berkley Minnesota - but I guess it can't be helped."  
  
"You and me both" Mulder said even though he had to admit that he was looking forward to seeing Scully in her bathing suit. "I don't think we will get a whole lot of sleep on this case. From what Lydia Bennett said, these little gatherings happen two or three nights a week."  
  
Roger's house was just down the block from Scully and Mulder's so they opted to stroll down the street. Scully said nothing when Mulder casually draped his arm over her shoulders as they strolled.  
  
Roger and another neighbor Brian were chatting on Roger's front lawn and spotted Mulder and Scully as they walked down the sidewalk.  
  
"So what do you make of the new kids on the block?" Brian said taking a sip of his beer.  
  
"They seem nice enough but I think we should hang low until we get to know them a bit better."  
  
"Okay - I will go tell the others that there will be no special activities tonight."  
  
Brian turned to walk around to the back of the house just as Mulder and Scully approached the house.  
  
Roger walked up to greet them shaking Mulder's hand and giving Scully a peck on the cheek.  
  
"I am so glad you made it. I can only imagine how tired you both are. But hopefully a nice juicy steak and a dip in the pool with help you get your energy back."  
  
"Sounds good to me" Mulder said still keeping his arm around Scully.  
  
"Come on in the house and I will show you where you can change."  
  
Mulder finished changing first and waiting patiently outside the bathroom for Scully to emerge. When she did, it took everything he had not to gasp out loud at the sight of her.  
  
Scully was dressed in a simple black one piece bathing suit that featured a low cut front and an even lower cut back.  
  
He walked over to join her and bent over to whisper in her ear "Wow!"  
  
Scully smiled at him and then took his hand and headed towards the pool saying "It's show time Richard."  
  
Roger was waiting for them by the pool and gave them each a tall cool drink and then escorted them around the pool introducing them to everyone.  
  
There were probably another 10 couples lounging around or splashing in the pool. All of them were either in their late twenties or thirties and all of them looked like they stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad.  
  
Scully and Mulder smiled and made small talk. Luckily for them, they spent so much time in each other's company that they were very comfortable and natural with each other. The only difference in their behavior from that they exhibited every day was that they were touching each other a bit more often.  
  
Mulder decided that he liked touching Scully and was pleased when he felt no sense of disapproval at doing so from his partner.  
  
Finally after about four hours the party began to break up. Scully and Mulder said their goodbyes promising to meet up at Brian's house Thursday night to sample some new wine he had brought back with him from California.  
  
Scully and Mulder strolled back to their house with their arms around each other. As soon as they entered their house, they split apart both feeling a bit uncomfortable.  
  
"That wasn't so bad" Mulder said heading into the kitchen to grab a drink. "I think I will take a couple of minutes to write down all the names I can remember. That way we can start running checks on everyone in the morning."  
  
"Well, I am going directly to bed" Scully said barely stifling a yawn.  
  
"Want some company?" Mulder teased from the kitchen wondering for a split second what he would do if she actually said 'yes'.  
  
"Very tempting, but I think I will pass. Good night Richard."  
  
"Good night Jodi"  
  
The following day Mulder and Scully busied themselves at the house. Mulder spent a good portion of the day on his laptop running checks on the people who had attended the party the night before.  
  
Scully organized their belongings and when she was done, actually opted for reading a book out in the backyard.  
  
The sun was warm and inviting and Scully happily sunk into her chair looking forward to reading a mindless novel. She felt a bit guilty about doing it, but Mulder had reassured her that she would be working well into the night on their field report so she should take advantage of the nice weather.  
  
She had just turned to the first page when someone called out to her.  
  
"Good morning young lady" a female voice called.  
  
Scully lifted her eyes from her book and saw an elderly woman of at least 70 standing next to the hedge dividing their property.  
  
Scully gave the woman a quick wave and got up from her chair and walked over to her.  
  
"Good morning" Scully said smiling down at the smaller woman.  
  
"Good morning dear." The woman said holding out her hand. "My name is Agnes Murphy and I live right next door." The woman gestured to the small white Cape behind her.  
  
"Very nice to meeting you Mrs. Murphy. My name is Jodi Buckland. My husband, Richard, and I just moved in yesterday."  
  
"Please call me Agnes dear. I saw you when you arrived but wanted to give you a chance to settle in before coming over and saying 'hello'."  
  
The two women made small talk for about five minutes and then Agnes invited Scully and Mulder over for tea.  
  
"I know it won't be as exciting as the parties Roger throws, but perhaps I can tempt you with my homemade cookies."  
  
"We would love to come visit" Scully replied and it was decided that she and Mulder would head over around four that afternoon.  
  
The women parted company and Scully went in to tell Mulder about their engagement that afternoon.  
  
"Homemade cookies and gossip. I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon."  
  
End of chapter three - suggestions? Comments? 


	4. Tea Time

Chapter Four - Tea Time  
  
Scully and Mulder arrived at Agnes's house promptly at four. She greeted them with a warm smile and led them into her living room.  
  
It was obvious that Agnes had lived in this house for a long, long time. The furniture was a bit dated as were the rugs on the floor, but the house, itself, was spotless.  
  
Mulder milled about the living room while Scully helped Agnes in the kitchen with the tea and cookies. The mantle was covered with pictures and Mulder looked at each one. They were pictures of Agnes over the years with a man who Mulder assumed was her husband.  
  
Agnes and Scully entered the room just when Mulder was finishing up his inspection of the pictures.  
  
"Agnes, is that you?" Mulder pointed at a picture at the other end of the mantle.  
  
"Goodness yes." Agnes replied a bit embarrassed. "They are all of me and my husband Jake."  
  
Agnes set the tea on the coffee table and motioned for Scully to put down the plate of cookies and take a seat. Mulder automatically sat next to her trying not to look too eagerly at the cookies.  
  
Agnes sighed. "Jake and I were married close to 40 years. He passed away about 10 years ago."  
  
"I'm sorry" Scully said softly accepting the cup of tea Agnes held out to her.  
  
"Don't be" Agnes said her eyes taking on a look of cold steel. "He had a heart attack, in bed in the arms of his lover."  
  
"Oh" Scully said feeling a bit embarrassed.  
  
Mulder took his cup of tea, added several large scoops of sugar to it and decided it was time to change the subject.  
  
"Agnes, have you lived here long?"  
  
"Oh yes, this house was one of the first ones built. The rest of the neighborhood just sprang up around us."  
  
"So you must have noticed lots of changes throughout the years." Scully said nibbling on a cookie.  
  
"This neighborhood used to be filled with families. Children everywhere. It was wonderful since Jake and I weren't blessed with any of our own. But about five years ago, things slowly started to change."  
  
"The people who had raised their children here sold their houses and moved to where the weather is warmer. The houses were bought up by married folks who were more concerned about their careers and having a good time then starting a family."  
  
"Really" Mulder said hoping what he was about to say wouldn't upset Scully "Jodi and I are hoping to have kids one day and had hoped that there would be lots of children around here to play with."  
  
"I wouldn't hold my breath Richard" Agnes said before lowering her voice to almost a whisper. "The way folks around here behave, I doubt that any of them will be starting families anytime soon."  
  
"What you mean?" Scully asked.  
  
"I may be old and a bit old fashioned but, as I see it, when people stay up partying to the wee hours of the morning, during the week, they don't seem to be too keen on having children around to wreck all their fun."  
  
"But enough about all, how are the cookies dear?" Agnes asked Mulder as he popped his third one into his mouth.  
  
"Wonderful" he said with his mouth still full.  
  
"Good, I will pack some up to send home with you."  
  
Mulder and Scully spent the next hour chatting with Agnes but didn't get much more information out of her.  
  
When they arrived back at their house, it was decided that Scully would try to befriend Agnes as she would probably be a good source of information.  
  
"I don't know if I like the idea too much Mulder. I feel like I am taking advantage of a lonely old lady."  
  
Mulder walked over to where Scully stood looking out the window and stood behind her. "I know Scully, but think of it this way, the information you gather may help save a life or two."  
  
Scully turned around and looked up at Mulder. Their eyes locked for a minute before Scully nodded in agreement.  
  
"You're right Mulder." She pushed past him heading over to the dining room table which housed her laptop. "Don't forget, you're responsible for dinner tonight since I am doing the field report."  
  
Mulder smiled and headed into the kitchen to look for the phone book hoping that at least one restaurant in the area delivered.  
  
Agnes watched Mulder and Scully return to their house walking side by side barely touching.  
  
"They are definitely in love" Agnes thought as she headed back into the living room to pick up the dirty dishes. "But there is something else there."  
  
She picked up their two teacups and carried them kitchen being careful not to disturb the patterns of leaves on the bottom of each cup.  
  
Agnes put the cups down on the counter and turned on the bright overhead light before picking up each cup and examining it closely.  
  
Both cups pointed to the same thing. "They are lying" she said to herself. "I wonder what about?"  
  
She put the dishes in the sink and glancing at the kitchen clock noticed it was time for the evening news. She went into the den, switched on the TV and put Jodi and Richard Buckland out of her mind. For now.  
  
End of chapter four - keep those reviews coming. They make me write faster 


	5. Friend Or Foe?

Chapter Five - Friend Or Foe  
  
Scully was just downloading the last of the autopsy reports on the previous victims when there was a faint knock on the front door.  
  
She was tempted to ignore the knock, she had so much work to do before heading to the wine and cheese party down the street that night, but she rose slowly and headed towards the door.  
  
Scully peaked through the peephole and saw Agnes standing on her front stoop holding a large plate of muffins.  
  
Realizing that her work would be put off at least an hour, Scully sighed and opened the door plastering a smile on her face.  
  
"Good morning Agnes" she said stepping aside so the older woman could step inside.  
  
"Good morning dear." Agnes said cheerily walking into the house looking around with obvious curiosity. "I had a craving for blueberry muffins this morning so a whipped up a batch. Too many for me to eat so I thought perhaps you and that good looking husband of yours would like a few."  
  
As if on cue, Mulder came down the stairs his smile growing when he spotted the plate of muffins.  
  
"Agnes you are an angel" he said planting a kiss on her cheek which made her blush "you must have heard my stomach growling from your house."  
  
Agnes blushed again as Scully motioned her into the living room. Agnes took a seat placing the muffins down on the coffee table in front of her.  
  
"Coffee?" Scully offered  
  
"No thank you dear. More than one cup a day and I am all jittery." Agnes replied.  
  
Scully sat down a bit apprehensive. Whereas she could interview a potential suspect for hours, when it came to basic small talk she was often tongue tied. She hoped that Mulder would put off his errands and help her out by saw the keys in his hand and knew she was going to be on her own.  
  
Mulder leaned over and grabbed two muffins smiling broadly at Agnes. "I wish I could stay and chat with you Agnes, but errands await."  
  
He walked behind Scully and planted a kiss on her head. "Bye Honey" he said just a little too sweetly "I'll be home in plenty of time for Brian's little party."  
  
And with that, he was gone leaving Scully to entertain her elderly neighbor.  
  
"Brian" Agnes said as soon as Mulder had left the room "Are you sure you want to be associating with the likes of him?"  
  
"I really don't know" Scully said speaking the truth "I just met the man but he was kind enough to invite us over to sample some wine he brought back from California recently."  
  
"He will probably be wanting you to sample more than that" Agnes said a bit coldly.  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"Let's just say that he and some of his friends have a bit of a roving eye. They have caused a few broken hearts in their day but I am sure will pay the price for their unfaithfulness." Agnes began crossly.  
  
She seemed to catch herself for she took a deep breath and managed to continue in a more normal tone of voice.  
  
"But dear, judging by the way your husband looks at you, and you at him, I don't think you will have anything to worry about."  
  
Agnes then promptly changed the subject and try as she may, Scully was not able to change it back. She learned about the best place to buy meat in town, where to get the prettiest flowers and the freshest bread but nothing more about her neighbors.  
  
Agnes returned home about an hour later and Scully promptly returned to her computer and her autopsy reports.  
  
As she looked at her computer screen she found herself thinking about what Agnes had said more than the autopsy report displayed in front of her.  
  
Two things had caught her attention - only one of which she thought she would mention to Mulder.  
  
The part about Brian and his friends having a roving eye and paying the price seemed like a good tidbit of information to share with her partner. The part about how she and Mulder looked at each other she decided she would just keep to herself.  
  
As promised Mulder returned in plenty of time to not only go over the autopsy reports with Scully but to talk about her visit with Agnes.  
  
"So your little friend seems to have quite a disliking for Brian, Roger and the rest of their merry little band - very interesting." Mulder said pausing in front of the closet door trying to decide what to wear to the party that night.  
  
"Are you trying to imply that she has anything to do with the murders?" Scully said. "That seems a bit of a stretch Mulder, even for you."  
  
She walked over to where Mulder was peering in the closet and pointed to a dark blue polo shirt. "That and your khaki pants will be perfect."  
  
Mulder smiled and took the clothes from the closet. "Now I see why men get married, so their wives can make all their decisions for them."  
  
Scully gave him a casual swat across the back and she headed to the bathroom with her stack of clothes for the evening. By unspoken agreement, Scully always changed in the bathroom giving her access to her cosmetics and the mirror while Mulder changed in the bedroom giving him access to the sports scores on ESPN.  
  
"Seriously Mulder" Scully continued through the partially open bathroom door. "You can't be surprised that a woman of Agnes's age would be offended by the behavior of these people. I find it offensive and I am less than half her age."  
  
Scully was about to continue her argument when she noticed her small silver compact was no longer sitting on the bathroom sink.  
  
"Mulder?" she called out to him "Have you seen my compact?"  
  
"Not since this morning when I saw it on the sink." Mulder's voice was a bit muffled since he was pulling his shirt over his head. He thought to himself that now he and Scully really were starting to sound like an old married couple.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Of course I am sure" he said.  
  
"Exactly where? I need it to check the back of my hair."  
  
Hearing the frustration in her voice, Mulder walked over to the bathroom door "I will show you if you are decent."  
  
"Decent enough" Scully said opening up the door for him. She was just buttoning up her shirt and gestured with one hand to the sink.  
  
Mulder tried to get his concentration from his partner's barely covered chest to the bathroom sink that was littered with objects - both his and Scully's.  
  
"It was right here next to the stainless steel razor my mother gave me for Christmas."  
  
"The one you always bring with you but never use." Scully said teasingly.  
  
Mulder didn't answer, he was too busy poking his finger through the objects on the sink. Not finding what he was looking for, he looked in the garbage can and on the bathroom floor.  
  
"They are both gone" he said stating the obvious. "Was anyone else in here today?"  
  
Scully saw the seriousness of his expression and took a minute to think before answering. "No of course not, who would be here. oh, wait a minute. Agnes asked for a tour of the house. She said she was dying of curiosity to see what it looked like now since it had been at least ten years since she had last been inside. She asked to use the bathroom while I was showing her the bedroom."  
  
Mulder took Scully by the shoulders and turned her towards him. "Scully, did you happen to eat any of those muffins that Agnes brought over today?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"Just a hunch." Mulder said. "I think I will have one tested."  
  
Scully looked at him puzzled. "Tested, you have got to be kidding. What could possibly be in those muffins? They must be all right, you ate two of them yourself.  
  
Mulder smiled down at her. "I just took them to be polite. Blueberries make me sick."  
  
Scully rolled her eyes at him but decided she wouldn't convince him that sometimes muffins were actually just muffins and she let the subject drop.  
  
"Ready?" she said to Mulder as she finished putting on her makeup. She was wearing a bit more than normal tonight and hoped that it looked alright.  
  
"Almost" Mulder said "I just want to make sure that nothing else is missing."  
  
They did a quick search of the house which revealed that a small snapshot of the two of them was also missing. Mulder's head was brewing with theories, but he thought they could all wait until after the party.  
  
He opened the door for Scully and after passing through it himself offered him his arm. "You are looking very pretty tonight Mrs. Buckland" he said as she took his arm and they began their walk down the street. "I just hope I don't have you share you with anyone tonight."  
  
"That makes two of us" Scully replied.  
  
The light of the struck match cut through the darkness of the attic as Agnes lit several tall white candlesticks.  
  
After her eyes had adjusted to the candlelight, she took out a small ceramic bowl and began to throw a variety of dried herbs into it. Next to it she placed Scully's compact, Mulder's razor and their picture.  
  
Taking one of the candles, she lit the dried herbs and they erupted into one large flame with a loud 'whoosh'.  
  
Although the smoke of the herbs made her eyes water, Agnes stared down at the flame sometimes blue, sometimes green until it slowing died out. She then watched as the last plume of smoke slowly lifted up through the air making small circles in its trek towards the ceiling.  
  
When the last of the smoke had disappeared, Agnes blew out the candles and returned to her sitting room her plan of action clear.  
  
She did not like was she had seen in the flames, but she had no choice in the matter. Another man must die and soon.  
  
Agnes just hoped that it wouldn't be her handsome new neighbor.  
  
End of Chapter Five - comments? The more you send me your comments, the quicker I write 


	6. Red or White?

Chapter Six - Would You Prefer Red Or White?  
  
Scully and Mulder reached the end of Brian's driveway at the same time as several of the other neighbors. Nodding greetings to each other they all made their way to the door.  
  
Scully recognized them all from the pool party and wished that she had Mulder's memory for she wasn't sure of all of their names.  
  
Sensing this, Mulder called out his greetings  
  
"Hi there, Stan. It is nice to see you and Brenda again."  
  
Stan and Brenda both looked like runway models with glaring white teeth, blonde hair and absolutely perfect tans.  
  
"Good evening Richard" Stan said returning his greeting. "It looks like we and the Petersons have perfect timing."  
  
The Petersons, Scully remembered, were the other couple. John was short and athletic in build and Cindy was even shorter than Scully and looked as frail as a rose petal.  
  
Brian opened the door and welcomed them all into the house. The living room, dining room and family room were already brimming with people. Brian led the group to a small table that housed several different bottles of wine.  
  
"Red or white?" Brian said pointing to the bottles. "We have quite a variety here so take your time and try them all. Just make sure to take a bit of cheese or one of these biscuits Wendy made to cleanse your taste buds before switching types."  
  
Scully and Mulder approached the table and Mulder raised his eyebrow at Scully. "I think I will start with the white and work myself over to the red" she replied to his gesture.  
  
Mulder, himself, started immediately with the red.  
  
Glasses in hand, they slowly worked their way around the room making sure to have said hello and be seen by everyone in the room.  
  
Only then did they take a seat on a loveseat in the living room where they could easily observe what was going on around them.  
  
Brian's living room was quite large and hosted a huge fireplace. The furniture had been rearranged so it all lined the outside walls of the room leaving a large empty space in the middle of the room directly in front of the fireplace.  
  
Mulder assumed it was a dance floor and wondered to himself how this sedate group of adults quietly sipping wine and nibbling on cheese while chatting with each other would be induced to dance.  
  
His thoughts were broken when the hostess of the evening, Wendy, slowly made the rounds around the living room offering her wine biscuits and a sample of a 'very light red' that Brian had picked out specially with her in mind.  
  
Mulder and Scully accepted both the biscuits and the wine. They both nibbled on the biscuits which did their job perfectly. They were bland enough to totally remove all taste from the previous glass of wine and dry enough to make the person who had eaten it want to take a sip of wine immediately.  
  
They both sipped the new wine and agreed that it was indeed a nice little red wine. Seeing as they both enjoyed it, they put up no resistance when Wendy came around to top off their glasses.  
  
"I told you it was good" Wendy said smiling as she filled up their glasses "I think it really grows on you."  
  
Wendy started off with her wine bottle poised in the air and Mulder caught himself looking at her. Not just looking at her but looking in a way that made him advert his eyes. He had suddenly seemed to be fixated on the way she looked in her tight pants as she walked around the room.  
  
Slightly embarrassed he turned his attention back to his wine and sipped at it again.  
  
Scully sipped her wine savoring its taste in her mouth. For some reason, she seemed to be able to pick out the different tastes within the wine more while drinking the second glass than she did while drinking the first.  
  
Her sense of taste didn't seem to be the only one of her senses that seemed to be getting more sensitive as time passed. She could swear that she could smell the soft scent of Mulder's aftershave more now then she could when they first sat down.  
  
Not only that, but she became keenly aware of Mulder's arm as it lay casually across the back of the loveseat. He had placed it there when they had first sat down, but she didn't seem to notice until now when Mulder had started to draw circles with his finger on her arm.  
  
Slow, sensual circles that made Scully start to feel sensations she hadn't felt in a long, long time. She looked up at Mulder as if to ask him what exactly he thought he was doing when she caught him looking down at his own leg.  
  
There, her hand was doing the same thing, making slow sensual circles.  
  
Mulder looked briefly down at his partner and saw her puzzled expression. He was a bit puzzled himself but was more concerned about his partner's attentions causing him to be in an embarrassing situation than figuring out exactly what was happening to them.  
  
He placed the hand not occupied with Scully's arm firmly on hers and managed to stop the circular motions. He sighed a bit then feeling that he had adverted the disaster, at least for now.  
  
Mulder was just about to whisper a theory about what was happening to them into Scully's ear when the music began to play. Brian had an impressive stereo system and within seconds all thoughts of conversation were drowned out by the sensual beats of Brian's music.  
  
Mulder had doubted the necessity of a dance floor only moments before saw the dance floor immediately fill with people as the formerly sedate couples began to bump and grind and spin their way across the room.  
  
Scully watched the couples dancing and was surprised to find herself longing to join them. Usually Scully shied away from any such activities not thinking herself capable of such public displays. But tonight was different. She couldn't think of anything else she would rather do.  
  
Apparently Mulder had the same thought as he removed his arm from her shoulders and rose to face her. Smiling down at her he offered her his hand.  
  
Scully smiled back and let Mulder lead her out to the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms and they slowly made their way around the room. Neither one exactly sure how they had gotten to that point, but both very happy to have gotten there together.  
  
Scully and Mulder fit together perfectly and the swaying movements of their bodies only added to their aroused state. Mulder was sure that Scully would have little doubt about his feelings for her as he pulled her just a little bit closer.  
  
Scully felt Mulder's presence and fought, for only a moment, the urge to look up at him. She knew that when she did that her simple gesture would result in their first true kiss. She paused a minute trying to think through what she was doing. She tried to call upon logic but the desires of her body won out.  
  
Scully looked up at Mulder with her blue eyes wide and full of desire. Mulder looked down at her with a similar look in his eyes. His intent was perfectly clear. He was going to kiss her - now.  
  
Mulder bent down closer, closer, closer until their lips just touched.  
  
"Sorry folks" a loud voice boomed making Mulder and Scully spring apart and look at each other with a mix of excitement and horror at what had almost happened.  
  
Mulder blinked once, then twice noticing for the first time that the music had disappeared and that the lights had all been turned on again.  
  
"One of the neighbors thought things were getting a bit loud here" Brian said. The group gathered in front of him groaned collectively. "So the police have come and asked us to shut things down for the night."  
  
Everyone groaned louder. "I know you were all just starting to have fun, but with a bit of luck, you will all be able to take up where you left off when you get home."  
  
With that, everyone started to pick up their things and head out the door. If not for the police sitting out on the street, Mulder thought that a lot of the couples would have thrown themselves into the bushes and finished off what they had started in Brian's living room.  
  
He shamefully admitted to having the same thoughts about Scully as he escorted her back to their house - practically dragging her back he was so impatient to get inside.  
  
Scully followed Mulder's lead without comment. She was too confused by her own actions to question any of his. She knew what had almost happened while they were dancing and assumed that it would happen again once they got behind closed doors. She wasn't exactly sure what she thought of the idea.  
  
Mulder leaned against the door after shutting it.  
  
"Thank God we made it out of there" he said "it must have been something in the wine or those biscuits".  
  
Mulder started pulling off clothes and Scully began to think she was right about starting up where they had left off even though she thought Mulder was perhaps rushing things just a bit.  
  
"Forgive me Scully, but I don't get myself upstairs and into a very cold shower very fast and get some relief, I think I will have no choice but to ravish you right where you stand and we both know what a mistake that would be."  
  
And with that comment, Mulder sped upstairs leaving Scully standing by the front door with her mouth open unable to think let alone speak.  
  
After a moment Scully heard the sound of the shower starting and the noise helped to bring her to her senses. She had been right about the situation that night after all. She was out of her league with the swingers who had been with her in the room.  
  
Scully slowly climbed the stairs and walked into the bedroom. She stood in front of the mirror rather disgusted by what she saw. For a few moments that night she had felt like a beautiful sensual woman, but as she looked at herself now all she saw was a practical FBI agent who men avoided at all costs. The Ice Princess who was so unattractive that even a man filled to the brim with aphrodisiacs would avoid - preferring a cold shower and his own hand to her.  
  
Silently Scully stripped off her clothes and into her pajamas not even noticing the large tears slowing descending down her cheeks.  
  
Scully climbed into bed her body still feeling aroused and unfulfilled. She thought briefly about trying to find some relief herself but dismissed the idea. She was too sad to even try.  
  
Mulder realized something was wrong the moment he walked out of the bathroom wearing only his boxer shorts.  
  
The bedroom was dark except for a small lamp on one of bureaus still on to aid in his crossing the room to the couch waiting for him in the living room.  
  
Scully always left that light on for him when she retired before he did. What was different were the clothes scattered on the floor in front of the bureau. In all the years Mulder had known Scully, he had yet to see her leave a piece of dirty laundry on the floor.  
  
He turned to look at her curled up form and knew in an instant that she wasn't asleep. She was trying to look asleep but what she didn't know was that often at night, Mulder had paused during his trek across the room and just watched her sleep in the dim light. For some reason, the look of peace on her face brought peace to him as well.  
  
"Scully" he said in a loud whisper.  
  
Nothing.  
  
He stepped closer to the bed and whispered a bit louder. "Scully?"  
  
Still nothing.  
  
Feeling a bit on edge still, Mulder took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the bed. "Scully, I know you're awake. Will you not talk to me?"  
  
Silence still filled the room and Mulder slowly moved across the bed until he was stretched besides his partner with only the bed coverings between them.  
  
Scully felt his presence there but offered no resistance as Mulder slowly drew himself close to her, his lips close to her ear.  
  
"Scully, I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but please, please listen to me."  
  
Getting no signs of protest from her, he squeezed her a bit harder and continued.  
  
"What I said when we came back tonight. I know how it must have sounded, but that isn't what I meant. God, you have no idea of how beautiful you looked when you were in my arms tonight and every ounce of my being wanted to take you there in the front hall. But I just couldn't."  
  
Mulder thought he heard a soft sob and felt Scully's face. Finding a tear he gently brushed it away and kissed her on top of her head.  
  
"Scully, you know I find you attractive, very attractive in fact, but if you and I ever decide to make our relationship a physical one I want it to be based on our feelings for each other not by raging hormones brought on by chemicals. If I am ever lucky enough to become your lover, I want to know that when you reach for me and scream my name it is truly because of what you feel for me and I for you."  
  
He paused for a moment "Do you understand?"  
  
Scully was barely able to nod her head she was trying so hard not to cry. Mulder felt the motion and kissed her head again turning her unresisting body towards him. He gathered her into her arms and held her while her tears fell.  
  
When they seemed to have subsided, he raised her head up, brushed the remaining tears away with his two thumbs and looked at her carefully.  
  
"You are beautiful" he said kissing her forehead.  
  
When she smiled weakly at him he decided to press his luck a bit. "If you are still feel the affects from tonight and I will be happy to help you find some relief."  
  
He waggled his eyebrows at her and promptly got smacked on top of his head.  
  
Scully smiled again "Perhaps some other time."  
  
Mulder smiled back and rose to leave her.  
  
"Mulder?" she said meekly. "Could you do me one little favor?"  
  
"Anything"  
  
"Could you just hold me tonight?"  
  
"Gladly" Mulder said as he lay back on the bed.  
  
End of chapter six 


	7. The Morning After

Chapter Seven - The Morning After  
  
Mulder woke up not knowing exactly where he was and with absolutely no feeling in his right arm.  
  
After blinking a few times, he realized that he was still in the bedroom and that his arm was asleep because Scully was using it as a pillow.  
  
He eased his arm out from under her and stroked her hair as he waited for the blood to flow back into his arm. He was tempted to snuggle up with her again but his desire to do so was not as strong as his fear that his lower half would enjoy the snuggling a bit too much and wake up raring to go.  
  
"Don't think Scully would want to deal with that this morning" he thought to himself and he quietly got off of the bed. He paused to look at his sleeping partner a moment before heading for the shower.  
  
Roger and Brian sat in Starbucks following their normal routine of coffee and conversation.  
  
"Any idea who placed the call to the police" Roger said and he stirred sugar into his coffee.  
  
"The police wouldn't say" Brian replied "But if I was a betting man, and I am, I would say it was that old bitch who lives next to the Bucklands. She seems intent on ruining our fun."  
  
"So what are we going to do about her?" Roger asked. "If this keeps up, people will start looking elsewhere for their entertainment and we will be stuck sleeping with our own wives"  
  
Brian laughed at this. "Do you think we could drive her out of the neighborhood? Maybe we could get Richard and Jodi to be such annoying neighbors that she moves into a retirement community where she belongs."  
  
"We barely know Richard and Jodi. We don't even know if they will even be game to join in our little activities. So far they only seem to have eyes for each other but I am hoping to get him out to the club tomorrow morning to see just how the Buckland marriage is holding up."  
  
Brian nodded at this. "If it seems to be crumbling, I get dibs on Jodi. You know I really like the silent brainy ones."  
  
Richard laughed. "Only if I can watch"  
  
Scully opened her eyes slowly and knew immediately that Mulder was no longer next to her. She shut her eyes again willing herself not to be disappointed. After all this was Mulder - she couldn't really expect him to lie around in bed all day just to comfort her.  
  
She sat up in bed stretching a bit when the smell of coffee brewing reached her nostrils. It smelled so wonderful that she quickly forgot all about Mulder and hopped out of bed and headed directly into the shower.  
  
Scully emerged from the shower wearing her robe and rubbing her hair dry when the sight of Mulder sitting crossed-legged on the made bed startled her.  
  
"He must feel bad about last night to have actually made the bed" Scully thought to herself and she walked back into the bathroom to hang up the towel.  
  
Combing out her hair she looked over at Mulder who motioned towards her dresser with his head. She looked over there and spotted a steaming cup of coffee.  
  
She picked up the cup, took a sip and smiled her thanks to Mulder wondering all the while if she should bring up last night.  
  
Her actions were quite an embarrassment and she was quite happy not to talk about it. She just hoped that Mulder felt the same way.  
  
Mulder took one look at Scully and after he pushed the thoughts that sprang to mind as she walked around in her barely closed robe combing her hair, knew instantly that she was going to act like what happened in this very room the previous night never happened.  
  
He decided to let her ignore the issue. For now. In the meantime, he would have a little fun with her.  
  
"So Scully, what exactly do you think happened last night?"  
  
He saw the panic spring up in her eyes and decided to have pity on her "You know, at the party?"  
  
"I have been thinking about that Mulder. I assume we were either drugged or subjected to mass hypnosis."  
  
"My guess would be drugging. But how do we prove it?"  
  
Scully smiled at Mulder. "Well, I could draw some blood from you and take it to the lab and test it."  
  
Mulder paled a bit at this suggestion. "I thought you said you were never very good at taking blood."  
  
"Well, I didn't say I wasn't any good at it, I just haven't had to do it too often. I am sure I could get a sample after two or three tries."  
  
Mulder got even paler but nodded. "Okay."  
  
"Or" Scully said smiling again at him "I can take something else down to the lab."  
  
She walked over to her crumpled pile of clothes still sitting on the floor of her room and picked through them digging out her pair of slacks.  
  
Scully walked over to the bed and sat down not noticing that her robe was offering quite a view to her partner. Mulder did his best to look elsewhere. She stuck her hand into the pocket and pulls out a piece of cheese, a small piece of wine biscuit and a napkin that contains a bit of a wine stain.  
  
"Scully, you little thief" Mulder said smiling and shaking his head at her. "Let's add one of the muffins Agnes made to the pile."  
  
"Do you still think she has something to do with all of this?"  
  
"Yes I do. I would not be surprised if she was the one who called the police last night. She made it pretty clear that she doesn't approve of all this illicit behavior."  
  
Scully nodded. "I guess it won't hurt to check. What are you going to do today?"  
  
"I thought I would return that muffin plate to Agnes and see if I can get a better feel on her."  
  
"What exactly do you think she is?"  
  
Mulder looked at Scully surprised that she hadn't come to the same conclusion "A witch of course."  
  
"That sweet woman is a witch?" said Scully frowning at him.  
  
"I never said she was a bad witch."  
  
Scully shook her head and went into the bathroom to get dressed. When she returned to the bedroom she found Mulder dressed as well.  
  
"Hey Scully, how about I make you a little breakfast before you head out to your office like a good husband?"  
  
Scully looked at him a bit uncertainly but smiled at him. "Sure Richard, I would love that."  
  
Mulder saw Scully off and then headed to his computer to do some research on witchcraft. He spent about an hour absorbing as much as he could about rituals involving the heart.  
  
Feeling relatively well armed with information, Mulder grabbed the muffin plate and walked over to visit Agnes.  
  
He knocked on the front door while noticing the wide variety of plants that Agnes had growing in her gardens. They weren't the type of plant you normally saw in suburban gardens. Mulder was making a mental note to ask Agnes about the plants when Agnes opened the door and invited him in.  
  
"Good morning Agnes, I thought I would return this to you in hopes that you will fill it up again quickly."  
  
"Richard, you are such a flirt" Agnes said taking the plate from him and leading him into the living room. "Do you always flirt so outrageously?"  
  
"Only when Jodi isn't around" Mulder said with a smile.  
  
Agnes motioned for him to sit and offered him coffee. "No but I would love some water" Mulder answered not wanting to risk Agnes slipping him something.  
  
Agnes went off into the kitchen and Mulder got up and wandered over to the mantle and was looking at the pictures on it when Agnes returned with a glass of water in her hand.  
  
Mulder picked up a picture of Agnes and her late husband "You two were a very handsome couple" he said before putting the picture back and joining Agnes who had already sat down.  
  
"That we were. We were so in love" she started with a rather dreamy look on her face. "We did everything together and then one day the magic was gone. He started looking elsewhere. I ignored it for a while but then he began to rub it in my face. That was just too much."  
  
"So you made him pay?" Mulder said trying to look as innocent as possible.  
  
Agnes just gave him a smile. "I was going to divorce him, yes, but he passed away before I could take him to court."  
  
Mulder noticed the careful deflection of his comment and decided to change the subject. "Agnes I was noticing your garden. Jodi loves unusual plants - where did you get all of yours?"  
  
Agnes smiled broadly and began to talk about her love of gardening and how gardening has been in her family for generations.  
  
"Really? Do you mean vegetable gardening or did they specialize in flowers or herbs?"  
  
"Mainly herbs. My family was known for their healing powers during colonial times. The Gibson Family were very well known."  
  
"And you? Have you followed in their footsteps?"  
  
Agnes looked a bit suspiciously at him but Mulder had a look of pure innocence plastered on his face. "A bit, why do you something that is ailing you?"  
  
Mulder saw a small opening and even though he felt a bit guilty about how he was going to depict Scully he answered her without hesitation. "Well, not me. It's Jodi."  
  
He paused dramatically as if he was thinking about whether or not to continue. Agnes looked at him encouraging.  
  
"Please don't tell her that I told you this, but Jodi has been working so hard and has been under so much pressure from her job that she doesn't really like to. well. you know. make love very much any more."  
  
Agnes nodded in silence but Mulder thought he saw a hint of anger in her eyes. Apparently he had hit a bit of a nerve with her.  
  
"It seems like forever since we have been together and I am dying. I don't want to bother her about it but it is getting harder and harder to wait for her to be in the mood."  
  
Agnes looked a bit more annoyed but kept her professional face on. "Do you want something to keep your desires in check or to put her back in the proper mood?"  
  
Mulder smiled a bit sheepishly at her. "I am a guy you know. I must admit that I would like to try to get her back into the groove first."  
  
Agnes nodded and smiled at Mulder even though it was obvious that her opinion of Mulder had lessened quite a bit. "I may be able to come up with something for you. Are you going to tell Jodi about all of this, or slip it to her without her knowing it?"  
  
Mulder thought before answering. "I haven't really thought about it. What would you suggest?"  
  
Agnes took no time to answer. "Honesty is always the best policy Richard, but sometimes one has no choice but to be a bit dishonest."  
  
"So you have been in a similar situation?" Mulder asked.  
  
"Let's just say that it took a bit of effort to get my husband's attention when we first met."  
  
"You bewitched him?" Mulder said noticing Agnes bristling a bit at his use of the word 'bewitched'.  
  
"You could say that" Agnes said without elaborating.  
  
Agnes and Mulder wrapped up their conversation with Agnes agreeing to drop by later with a herbal tea for Scully.  
  
Mulder left Agnes at her front door thinking that Agnes most likely did practice some sort of witchcraft. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of trying to convince Scully.  
  
Mulder smile quickly vanished when he realized that he would have to tell his partner about the little story he made up. "Scully is going to kill me!"  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of chapter seven - any suggestions? 


	8. Thanks Alot Mulder!

Chapter Eight - Thanks A lot Mulder  
  
"You told her what?" Scully said giving Mulder one of her better glares.  
  
Mulder was right. Scully was mad, very mad.  
  
"You told her I was frigid?" She began to pace around the room. "Is that the first thought that popped into your mind when you thought of me? Frigid?"  
  
Mulder began to speak and then stopped. Better to let her rant a bit since it was unusual for her to be so open with him about how she was feeling.  
  
"So you are sitting having a nice little chat with Agnes and you just manage to work into the conversation that your 'wife'" she said the word wife with great sarcasm "was frigid and denying you your marital rights. Your genius IQ couldn't come up with something a little better than that?"  
  
She threw herself down in an armchair by the fireplace, crossed her arms and continued to glare at him.  
  
Figuring that she was done ranting for the time being, Mulder took a deep breath as if to muster up the courage to face her and crossed over to the chair and squatted down in front of it.  
  
He took Scully's hand in his and was actually amazed that she didn't pull it back.  
  
"Scully, don't you see? It's not you I was trying to set you in a bad light, it's me. I am trying to set myself to be seen as the villain in her eyes - the man who is so lustful that he is desperate enough to try and fix his wife and if that doesn't work, who knows what he will do next."  
  
Scully just glared at him again, removed her hand from his and got up from the chair. She wandered over to the window and stared out of it.  
  
Mulder came up behind her and stood almost touching her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her but just couldn't quite bring himself to do it.  
  
"Scully, don't think for a second that I think you are in any way frigid."  
  
This comment received a small snort from Scully. Mulder ignored it and continued.  
  
"The woman I held in my arms on the dance floor the other night is in no way, shape or form frigid. I can guarantee you that."  
  
Scully seemed to relax a bit at that comment and sighed. She didn't turn to face him but instead address herself to the window in front of her.  
  
"I'm sorry Mulder. I know you are just trying to stir the pot up with Agnes a bit to see what happens. It's just.." Scully paused unsure of whether or not she should continue. "It's just that I feel so far out of my league in this situation. There were so many beautiful women at that party - I am just not on the same level as them."  
  
Mulder leaned over a bit then and placed his chin on her head. "You're right Scully, you're not at their level. You are way above it."  
  
Scully smiled at his reflection in the window.  
  
"You aren't going to make me actually drink the stuff, are you?"  
  
Mulder smiled glad to see Scully's good humor restored. "Are you kidding - you and I definitely would not need any help in that department."  
  
Scully blushed a bit and Mulder realized that he had inadvertently stepped into the territory that they both seem to avoid at all costs.  
  
He turned and walked away from the window. "I am going to get a soda, do you want anything before you start telling me about your day at the office?"  
  
"Anything diet would be great" Scully said glad, too, that the awkward moment had passed. She walked over to the dining room table and started unpacking the test results from her briefcase.  
  
After Mulder handed her a soda, she took a long sip and began "I ran tests on the wine, the biscuits, the muffin Agnes made and the cheese."  
  
"And?"  
  
Scully smiled at Mulder. "Both the wine and the biscuits appeared to have some unusual biological substances in them. I wasn't able to get an exact reading on what it was, so I sent it out for further testing - but I think you and I know what the affect of whatever that biological substance is."  
  
"I'll say" Mulder mumbled "And the other two?"  
  
"The cheese seemed to be nothing more than simple cheese. The muffin, however, did have an extra ingredient added to it. I was able to identify it." Scully stopped and waited for Mulder to look at her expectantly. "You know Mulder, you are definitely smarter than you look."  
  
"I was right?"  
  
"You were right Mulder. Salt peter or something similar to it. I guess Agnes was trying to make sure we both behaved ourselves."  
  
"Excellent work Scully."  
  
"Thanks Mulder. Did you manage to dig up anything on our fine neighbor?"  
  
Mulder smiled "Dear sweet Agnes is from a long line of herbal healers."  
  
Scully could tell Mulder was on the verge of a very long explanation so she took her soda into the living room to get comfortable knowing Mulder would follow her in.  
  
He did talking the whole time. "The Gibson family was famous in the early American colonies for being able to cure ills that before had devastated entire families. From what I could dig up on their early cures, a lot of them revolved around basic common sense - eating vegetables, washing food etc. But it seems some of the Gibsons also had a reputation for using their gifts for herbal remedies in not such a charitable manner."  
  
Scully looked up at him truly interested now. "How so?"  
  
"From what I gathered, their skills were sometimes used to help in the torture and then execution of prisoners. The stories I found told of them being to extract the truth from people and being able to control people by simply giving them a special tea to drink. Of course, we have no way of knowing exactly what was in the tea and how much of the stories was fact and how much fiction."  
  
Mulder paused a second to take a large drink of his soda but then continued "Apparently there were also stories about the Gibsons injecting fluid into prisoners that made their organs turn to mush resulting in a slow painful death."  
  
Scully rose a hand to stop him "Are you trying to say that Agnes was able to overpower a full grown man and stick a needle large enough to go into his chest cavity without him giving her a fight?"  
  
Mulder shrugged. "Well, I haven't worked out all the details yet but with a little luck, you and I will be able to get Agnes to strike out again."  
  
Scully looked up at Mulder with just a slight bit of fear in her eyes. "Isn't that just a bit risky Mulder?"  
  
"I'm not worried Scully" he said "you'll have my back covered."  
  
Their conversation then turned to an invitation that Mulder had received just before Scully had returned.  
  
"Roger wants to me to go to the club with him tomorrow morning." Mulder said "I think he is trying to get a read on me or perhaps both of us."  
  
Scully glared a bit at Mulder and he smiled back at her. "Don't worry, I won't say anything about you but will just let Roger know that I may be tempted to wander and that your still waters run very deep."  
  
"Did Roger say anything much about tomorrow night's gathering at his house?" Scully asked.  
  
"He mentioned it in passing. I think it is just going to be drinks around the pool again. I am thinking that maybe they are planning on laying low for a bit after the police were just called."  
  
"Perhaps" Scully said frowning slightly.  
  
"What is it Scully?" Mulder asked stopping his pacing of the room and sitting next to Scully on the couch.  
  
"Well, I was just thinking. We are going to have to pick our poison."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well" Scully continued "We either risk eating whatever Agnes has whipped up for us or drinking whatever Roger and Brian decide to make in that blender of theirs. Either way, we may find ourselves in a somewhat awkward situation."  
  
Mulder noticed Scully staring down at the floor while she was speaking and couldn't help teasing her just a bit. "I don't know about you Scully, but I think I would prefer Roger's type of fun over Agnes's lack of it."  
  
Scully smiled weakly and shook her head. "I am being serious Mulder. I find it hard to believe that we will be able to avoid either making out with each other or making out with someone else."  
  
She was turning redder by the minute but forced herself to continue. "What we have to decide is which way is it going to be and what happens it we have to do both?"  
  
Mulder stopped smiling then and sat back on the couch with a sigh. Scully had brought up some practical problems.  
  
"Scully, I really have no desire to be with any of the women we have met."  
  
Scully just looked at him skeptically causing him to smile. "Okay, I will admit that I have found some of the women to be very attractive and maybe under different circumstances would be interested in them."  
  
He looked at Scully and thought he saw the slightest look of hurt in her eyes. He looked again and it was gone. "But knowing what I know about these parties, I know that any arousal I feel is artificially induced. There is no romance in any of this and that is half the fun."  
  
Scully eyed her partner with renewed skepticism. "You are trying to tell me Fox Mulder that you, the man with the world's largest personal porn collection, need romance? I would think what has been presented to you here is the fantasy of most men and probably a lot of women too."  
  
Mulder saw another opportunity to tease Scully and grabbed it. "Really Scully, haven't you fantasized about men you barely know sweeping you off your feet and making mad passionate love to you?"  
  
"Like you haven't?" she retorted "Just because one thinks of such a think at some point in their life doesn't mean they want to actually act it out."  
  
"Exactly my point" Mulder said smirking at her. "My problem is, if I am going to smoke out Agnes I am going to have to play the cad and actually go through the act or convince her that I have. I don't think she acts until someone she is close to has been hurt the way her husband hurt her."  
  
Scully frowned again and Mulder spoke quietly. "Maybe you could interrupt me before the actual act is committed and then let Agnes know all the gory details."  
  
"I could do that easily enough. I will be more than happy to be the one to get cold feet and end our participation." She stopped talking still looking concerned.  
  
"That isn't what is bothering you, is it Scully?"  
  
"No, it isn't and I am not sure if I want to tell you what is." She said once again resuming her examination of the floor.  
  
Mulder reached over and pushed a stray piece of hair behind her eye. "Come on Scully, you know you can tell me anything."  
  
"Well.., well I.. I am." Scully got annoyed at her rambling and finally blurted it all out. "I don't think I am going to like seeing you pawing other women and them pawing you."  
  
Mulder smiled and said softly. "Scully, believe me, it will take every ounce of strength in my body to keep from whipping out my service revolver and taking out anyone laying a hand on you. But unfortunately we can't control that."  
  
Scully looked up at him with her face once again not letting him see what was going on inside her head.  
  
"But what we can control is what happens between the two of us." Seeing Scully look of puzzlement he continued. "You said yourself that either we would be with each other tomorrow night or with someone else."  
  
Scully nodded but still looked puzzled. This time it was Mulder's turn to be hesitant in speaking. "I don't know about you but I really don't want to kiss you for the first time full of some sort of substance in front of a room full of people who are probably watching us to get their jollies."  
  
"So what do you suggest?" Scully said turning to face him.  
  
"Well, I could kiss you right here and now" he said smiling at the startled look on Scully's face. "just to get it out of the way."  
  
"Or" he continued "I could take you out for a romantic dinner the way a good husband should, followed by a stroll along the lake and ending with a good night kiss."  
  
Scully still looked a bit suspiciously at him. "Ending with a kiss?"  
  
Mulder sensed Scully's unease and decided to lighten the tension that had rose up between them. "Unless you want to drink of couple of cups of the tea Agnes is going to make for you."  
  
Scully laughed at this. "I think the just the kiss for now Mulder."  
  
Both of them realized that they at just about ready to break down another barrier between them. Just about - but not quite.  
  
End of chapter eight. So I need opinions - does Mulder get more than a simple kiss from Scully?? 


	9. A Night On The Town

Chapter Nine - A Night on the Town  
  
Scully and Mulder's conversation about their plans for the evening was interrupted by a knock on the front door.  
  
"Agnes" Mulder said. "Do you want me to answer it or you?"  
  
"I will" Scully said walking slowly to the door wondering exactly what she would say to Agnes when she opened it.  
  
Agnes was obviously surprised to see Scully open the door. Apparently she expected Mulder to do so in order to keep his request a secret.  
  
Scully put on a sad/weary face and smiled weakly at Agnes. "Hello Agnes, I see you brought the tea that Richard spoke to you about."  
  
Agnes saw the look on Scully's face and took her hand and pulled her outside in order to speak with her in private.  
  
"My dear, I am so sorry that he is putting you through all this. Your job is causing you anxiety and yet he expects you to take him to your bed every night."  
  
"And morning" Scully said actually enjoying the role she was playing.  
  
"Goodness, that man is full of energy, isn't he? Are you sure you wouldn't want me to brew something up for him. To calm him down at bit?"  
  
"No Agnes, I will try this. Hopefully this will make things better between us. And keep Richard from.." Scully stopped looking embarrassed.  
  
"Keep Richard from what?" Agnes asked. Scully was pleased to see that she was lapping up her story the way a cat laps up milk.  
  
"From cheating on me. He is a very attractive man you know. Woman just flock to him."  
  
Agnes look went from concern to one of anger. "Well, we'll see to it that doesn't happen"  
  
Scully nodded her thanks and said goodbye to Agnes. She walked back into the house and leaned against the door trying hard not to laugh.  
  
"Nicely done Jodi" Mulder said.  
  
"You heard it?"  
  
"The whole thing. Glad to know you think I am attractive." He teased.  
  
"I don't Jodi does" Scully retorted.  
  
Scully and Mulder both went upstairs to prepare for their big evening out. They didn't say a word to each other as they quickly moved around the bedroom picking out the clothes they would wear.  
  
Scully gathered together her stack of clothes and went into the bathroom to change while Mulder quickly changed in the bedroom. He stood in front of the mirror for awhile looking at himself - something he rarely did.  
  
Smiling at his reflection, he had to admit to himself that he was actually nervous about spending the evening with Scully. He told himself not to be so stupid that the woman with whom he was spending the evening was just his partner, his best friend, his make-believe wife.  
  
"Who I promised to kiss before the end of the evening." Mulder thought to himself groaning and sitting down on the bed.  
  
"I must be an absolute nutcase" he thought "this case is going to put enough strain on our relationship without me having to play the romantic. What the hell was I thinking? What if that one simple little gesture ruins everything? What if."  
  
Mulder was interrupted by the sound of Scully quietly clearing her throat. She stood over him as he sat on the bed with an amused smile on her face. She knew perfectly well that Mulder would start overanalyzing things and work himself into a tizzy.  
  
"Is having a simple dinner with me that depressing to you?" she said, obviously teasing him.  
  
Mulder looked up at her and all the thoughts he was just having left his head. Scully was wearing the little black top he had teased her about before they left DC and looked absolutely stunning.  
  
No, not stunning - as sexy as hell and it scared Mulder even more.  
  
"No, it's not you" Mulder lied knowing that Scully would know he was lying "I was just thinking about how to rationalize tonight's dinner on our expense report."  
  
"Oh yeah" Scully said stepping back so Mulder could stand up. "Where are we going?"  
  
"You'll see" Mulder said motioning for her to precede him out of the room. "Are you ready to go to dinner Jodi?"  
  
"As ready as I will ever be Richard"  
  
Before changing for dinner Mulder and Scully had decided that it would be safer, in more ways than one, if they portrayed themselves and Mr. and Mrs. Buckland for the evening. Not only would this help them from blowing their cover, but it also get them each a false identity to hide behind if things got out of hand between them.  
  
The Minneapolis area of Minnesota is blessed with a wide variety of lakes and Mulder had picked a secluded restaurant located right on the shore of one of the larger ones.  
  
Scully raised her eyebrows in appreciation as they walked into the restaurant. It was decorated in the kind of subdued elegance that made her think for a second that maybe Mulder was worried about this meal showing up on their expense account.  
  
Their table by the window not only gave them the privacy they wanted but a spectacular view of the lake. The view was enhanced even more by the long shadows made by the sun slowly beginning to set.  
  
"Mul.Richard, what a wonderful surprise." Scully said putting the napkin in her lap and then picking up her menu. "How did you find this place?"  
  
"The Lone Gunman. I promised Frohike a picture of you in the black bathing suit if he could find me the perfect restaurant."  
  
Scully gave him a feeble attempt at a glare and then just laughed. "If the food here tastes as good as I think it will, I may just pose for that picture."  
  
Scully and Mulder then dropped into silence as they looked over the menu and ordered their food. Mulder opted for steak while Scully picked chicken.  
  
Mulder then surprised her by ordering a very good, yet very expensive bottle of wine.  
  
"Richard" she said trying to sound like the scolding wife but not succeeding too well "are you sure that wine is within our budget:?"  
  
"Jodi" he responded taking her hand and pressing his lips gently against it. "Nothing is too good for my wife."  
  
He put her hand down and then as if just realizing what he had done, let go of it and stared out the window.  
  
Scully felt just as awkward, even though she admitted to herself that she found the gesture very sweet. She was very happy when the wine arrived and there was an excuse to break the silence.  
  
Mulder tasted the wine and finding it to his liking motioned for the wine steward to pour it out. Scully tasted it and was also impressed.  
  
"Did Frohike tell you which wine to buy as well?"  
  
Mulder looked a bit embarrassed. "He wasn't the one who taught me about wines."  
  
Scully noticed that Mulder was hesitating and said "Then who did?"  
  
"Phoebe" Mulder said suddenly becoming interested in a small piece of lint on the table. "She always liked surrounding herself with the best. She and I spent a week in France learning all we could about the stuff. Comes in handy every once in a while."  
  
At the mention of Phoebe's name, Mulder noticed that Scully's eyes showed a small amount of emotion and then nothing has she once again raised up her defenses.  
  
They sat in relative silence for awhile being somewhat at a loss at what to talk about. They couldn't talk about the FBI or their case and neither one was ready to talk about anything too personal - like their relationship. So they sipped their wine in silence both worrying and wondering about whether or not this was a good idea.  
  
"Jodi" Mulder started not being able to take the uncomfortable mood any longer "are you sorry we went out tonight? We can eat quickly and go back to the house if you would like."  
  
Scully smiled "What, and missed all those fabulous desserts? Not on your life. If I promise to be better company, can we stay? Please.please.please?"  
  
"I love it when you beg" Mulder said good humor restored. "Let you tell me about the rest of my conversation with Frohike."  
  
The rest of the meal went smoothly enough with Mulder entertaining Scully with stories of his antics (without Phoebe) while his was at Oxford and Langley's hidden desire to meet Leonard Nimoy in person."  
  
Scully laughed at Mulder's stories and realized that this was probably the first time that they had ever spent time together not talking about a case or dealing with one or the other of them lying in a hospital.  
  
It was fun. It was nice. Very nice.  
  
Scully thought that she could get used it.  
  
Mulder too enjoyed himself more than he thought and was sad to see the meal come to an end. Not only did they both enjoy their dinners and dessert but they managed to easily put away the entire bottle of wine.  
  
Scully, whose glass Mulder had been continually topping off , found herself feeling just a bit wobbly.  
  
Mulder seemed to notice too and gallantly offered her his arm. She shot him a bit of a dirty look but took the arm anyway and allowed him to lead her out of the restaurant.  
  
Neither of them noticed the woman sitting in at the bar watching them very carefully. The woman smiled to herself, paid her tab and followed them out of the restaurant.  
  
Instead of heading back to the car, Mulder and Scully began to stroll along the shore of the lake taking a path that appeared to go all around the lake.  
  
Mulder removed Scully from his arm opting to take her hand instead. They walked in silence just enjoying the reflection of the full moon on the lake as it began to rise and being with each other.  
  
After walking for about 10 minutes they reached a deserted stretch of beach. Not wanting to ruin her new sandals, Scully walked over to a good- sized rock that was perched on the beach and sat down to remove them.  
  
Once off her feet, she took a moment to savor the wonderful feeling of the cooling sand between her toes. She stood up and walked over to the edge of the lake and stuck one toe in.  
  
"Cold" she said to Mulder who had come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She jerked ever so slightly at his actions but then allowed herself to sink into his warmth.  
  
"Beautiful isn't it?" she said looking out at the still lake glowing in the moonlight.  
  
"Even more beautiful in the moonlight" Mulder pulling her a bit closer and settling his chin on her head. Scully swallowed hard as she realized that Mulder wasn't talking about the lake.  
  
Mulder couldn't help but think how wonderful Scully felt leaning up against him. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to kiss her right then and there and then throw her down on the sand and show her just how wonderful he felt.  
  
But that wouldn't be right - Scully had set the rules and he had given his word.  
  
"Hey" he said "do you think that Fox and Dana will ever get to the place where Jodi and Richard are?"  
  
"I don't know." She replied sighing a bit before continuing "Fox and Dana seem to be in a whole different place with a whole different set of pressures on them. I don't know if they could ever take the time to just 'be' with each other."  
  
"You may be right. But maybe when we get back to DC I will look Fox up and give him some pointers. Do you think it would do any good?"  
  
Scully paused and thought before answering. It was clear that Mulder, whose insecurity was showing up big time, was trying to test the waters with her to see if maybe they could take their relationship to another level when the case was done.  
  
"It might" she said finally "That Dana is a pretty sensible woman most of the time."  
  
Scully felt Mulder relax a bit at her words and she closed her eyes and just enjoyed being with him.  
  
The woman from the restaurant peered at them from her spot behind the trees. She thought to herself how cute they were standing along the edge of the lake. But even so, she couldn't help but feel that they were hiding something from either each other - or her.  
  
End of Chapter Nine - next up the kiss.. Will it lead to more????? 


	10. Getting To Know You

Chapter Ten - Getting To Know You, Getting To Know All About You  
  
It seemed to Mulder that he and Scully had only been standing by the edge of the lake for a short time. He knew he had to be mistaken because even with him wrapped around her, Scully was beginning to shiver.  
  
"I am such a jerk" he said looking down and noticing that Scully was standing barefoot in the water "You must be freezing"  
  
He pulled away from her a bit more abruptly than he intended - once again considering himself guilty of hurting Scully.  
  
Scully shook her head seeing Mulder begin his internal battle with himself. "Don't be silly" she turned him around so she could look at him. "It's my own fault for staying in the water so long. I guess I just didn't want the moment to end."  
  
"It doesn't have to end" Mulder said looking down at her with eyes that told her that he had some pretty definite ideas about how to warm her up.  
  
"No it doesn't" she agreed bending down to pick up her sandals. "But unless you want me to be too sick to flaunt myself in that black bathing suit tomorrow, we had better go home."  
  
Mulder nodded and Scully had to admit that she felt a bit disappointed that Mulder no longer held her hand as they were walking. Obviously he had taken her declaration that she needed to get home as a signal to back off. He was right - it was.  
  
Now it was Scully's turn to beat herself up. She knew perfectly well that she had blown a chance to truly kiss Mulder without any rules, pretenses or fellow party goers gawking at them.  
  
"Idiot" she muttered under her breath.  
  
"What?" Mulder said thinking she was talking to him.  
  
"Me, not you" Scully said still quite annoyed with herself. "I seem to always know how to ruin everyone's good time."  
  
Mulder stopped at this and turned Scully to face him. "You haven't wrecked my good time, not by a long shot. But remember you are making up the rules - I will pretty much do whatever you want"  
  
Mulder looked at Scully's face in the moonlight as she slowly thought through what she had just heard. He hadn't meant to say that especially not now when they weren't even free to call each other by their real names.  
  
He waited a bit nervous wondering how Scully would react.  
  
Scully couldn't believe what she just heard. Surely she was mistaken. She and Mulder were just pretending tonight - more or less, right? After all they were undercover on a case, weren't they?  
  
They didn't really mean what they were saying? Did they?  
  
Finally Scully slowly nodded and began walking again.  
  
Mulder wondered to himself what her response meant. But spoke no more about it. He did take her hand again and they walked hand in hand just enjoying being with each other.  
  
The restaurant parking lot was all but deserted but for one lone car when they arrived back at their car.  
  
"Where is everyone?" Scully said looking around the parking lot. "Surely we weren't walking that long?"  
  
Mulder looked down at his watch. "Just after midnight" he said. "Don't suppose you want to park here for awhile?" he said unlocking her door for her.  
  
She threw him a flirtatious glance "What would you do if I actually said 'yes'?"  
  
She laughed at the look of panic on Mulder's face at the prospect of necking passionately in the car with Scully "Just what I thought."  
  
Scully sat in the car and was still chuckling when Mulder got in. He looked at her and felt very tempted to silence her with a kiss but somehow that thought of making out with Scully with a steering wheel poking into his side didn't appeal to him as the prospect of getting to do it on the living room couch.  
  
"You're lucky I'm a gentleman" Mulder said chuckling himself. He started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot not even noticing the small figure watching them from the other parked car.  
  
Once within the safe confines of the car, Mulder and Scully talked briefly about their plans for the next day and how they would handle Agnes and the party at Roger's house.  
  
After everything was settled they were silent. Both of them wrapped up in thoughts about what was about to happen between them.  
  
Mulder, who felt so confident at the beginning of the evening, began to have doubts again. Scully wondered what she would do if Mulder's kiss was half as good as she thought it would be.  
  
They arrived back at the house and instead of shifting into their normal routine they both hurried off to freshen up.  
  
Scully took a bit longer and was surprised to see Mulder sitting down on the couch in the living room with another bottle of very good wine open in front of him.  
  
Mulder patted the seat next to him on the couch and gave Scully a look that challenged her to sit anywhere else.  
  
Having almost convinced herself that she wasn't scared of being that close to Mulder, Scully sat down and accepted the glass of wine that Mulder offered her.  
  
She sipped it and let the heavenly taste of it roll over her tongue. "I think this is the first time" she began taking another quick sip before putting the glass down "that I am happy about you being involved with Phoebe."  
  
Mulder saw a small opening and jumped on it. "Why does she bother you?"  
  
Scully shifted a bit uncomfortably and fought the urge to drink more wine. "I just didn't like how you and she. she always.. she hurt you." She finally blurted out knowing that Mulder wasn't really buying what she was saying.  
  
"You know Scully" Mulder said settling back into the couch "you and I have known each other for years. Have seen each other at our absolute best, nursed each other through personal injuries, grave diseases and the deaths of our loved ones - but I don't think we really know all that much about each other."  
  
Scully smelled a trap and tried to avoid it. "What do you mean? I know you inside and out."  
  
"I think you know how I will react in most situations but I doubt very much that you know that I always eat the inside of Oreo cookies first. Or that my favorite part of the turkey is the drumstick." He continued "You know the personal stuff."  
  
"Is it so important that we know all of that?" Scully said wondering where he was going with this.  
  
"Yeah, I think it is or will be soon enough. Hasn't there always been some personal aspect of my life that you have been dying to ask about but for professional reasons you didn't?"  
  
Scully thought a minute and then blushed a bit. "Okay, if you insist. did you and Diana.oh never mind. It really is none of my business."  
  
Mulder waited until Scully took another long sip of wine and then turned her face towards him. "It is your business and to answer your question 'no'. Diana wanted to but I didn't."  
  
"Oh" Scully said feeling more relieved than she had a right to. "Does this mean you get to ask me something now?"  
  
"Yup" Mulder said obviously starting to enjoy himself. "In Philadelphia that time."  
  
"No" Scully cut in before he could finish "believe it or not, he was a gentleman. He knew I was drunk and wouldn't let me drive back to my hotel."  
  
Mulder nodded looking rather relieved. "Not that I would have blamed you Scully. The X-files and I have pretty much robbed you of your social life. I hope it hasn't been too long." feeling somewhat embarrassed he decided against finishing his statement.  
  
Scully smiled weakly "Probably since right around the time I started working with you."  
  
Mulder stared at her obviously shocked by her answer. "You haven't.. you? I mean, look at you, you're beautiful smart and half the guys in the FBI would love to have a shot at you. Even Skinner."  
  
Scully laughed at this "You flatter me Mulder. I think your view is tainted by spending so much time with aliens and mutants."  
  
Mulder got very serious then and took her head in both of his hands. "Scully, you are an incredibly beautiful, incredibly sexy woman, intelligent woman." He released her before continuing "I am sorry I am holding you back."  
  
Eager to lighten the mood, Scully said brightly "Well, Mulder surely your draught cannot be as long as mine. Not with the way women always throw themselves at you."  
  
"Only once in the past six or so years." Mulder said barely above a whisper "and that was a big mistake. I was trying to fill a hole in my heart."  
  
"California?" Scully said softly  
  
Mulder barely nodded not taking his eyes off of hers. He wondered if his eyes were showing the pain he felt during those lonely months when she was gone, when he a turned to someone as desperate as himself to try and dull the pain.  
  
It hadn't worked.  
  
Scully looked at Mulder and couldn't believe the pure pain that she saw in his eyes. Her mother and Skinner had told her how upset Mulder had been during her abduction and how he was the only person who refused to give up on her.  
  
But it wasn't until that very moment when she saw him trying to blink back a tear that she really understood how much the events of those three months had hurt him as well.  
  
She put a tentative finger on his face and gently brushed the tear away. Mulder took her hand and place a long tender kiss on it.  
  
Scully felt a shutter flow through her entire body. Mulder turned her hand over so that the palm was facing up and kissed it as well.  
  
Scully closed her eyes savoring the feeling. When she opened them she saw Mulder moving closer to her without knowing it, her lips opened to receive his kiss.  
  
His lips were soft and gentle and the kiss between them not one of passion but one of healing and tenderness. Their kiss lasted but a moment and when they parted Mulder looked down at her with eyes that seemed to reach right into her soul.  
  
She smiled at him ever so slightly and he leaned into to kiss her again. This kiss deepened and Scully found herself opening herself to him and eagerly exploring him as well using her hand in his hair to pull him closer.  
  
They stayed like that exploring each other until the lack of air caused them to part. Mulder took her in his arms then and hugged her kissing the top of her hair and her neck enjoying the way she snuggled trying to get closer to him.  
  
He sat back then and pulled her down on top of him so her head lay on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and softly stroked her upper arm.  
  
"Scully" he said planting a small kiss on her head "that was even better than I expected and let me tell you, I expected a lot."  
  
"Thanks, I think" said Scully. She snuggled a bit closer and closed her eyes just enjoying the feel of Mulder holding her close.  
  
"Mulder" she said looking up at him "thanks"  
  
"Thanks? For what?" he said looking a bit puzzled.  
  
"For stopping. For giving me a chance to digest all of this."  
  
"I would like to say it was my pleasure Scully but I can't with all honesty. I will probably end up taking a cold shower when all is said and done."  
  
Scully poked him in the ribs and he continued "Ouch. Seriously though, I said you could set the rules and I meant it. You and I both know what is at stake here professionally and personally and we don't want to do something we will regret later."  
  
He looked down at her and smiled "But I don't think I will regret anything we choose to do. But seriously Scully, it is getting very late and I have an early date with Roger at the Country Club in the morning so unless you have had a change of heart, we should call it a night."  
  
"You're right Mulder" Scully said forcing herself to leave the comfort of Mulder's arms.  
  
Mulder followed Scully to the bottom of the stairs as if walking her to her door after their first date. Scully went up at step and then turned now able to look Mulder right in the eye.  
  
She reached out and pulled him towards her kissing him with more passion than she thought she processed. After a moment or two, she pulled back and said in a voice huskier than normal. "Good night Mulder."  
  
Mulder watched her climb up the stairs to the bedroom thinking to himself that he really was going to need a cold shower.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
End of chapter ten - what do you think? Too much MSR? Don't worry, the plot will thicken in the next chapter, I promise. 


	11. The Morning After

Chapter 11 - The Morning After  
  
Mulder sat up on the couch and slowly rose to his feet stretching. He managed to finally push his thoughts of Scully out of his head long enough to get at least a few hours sleep.  
  
He stumbled into the kitchen and started up the coffee pot and then creeped slowly up the stairs to get take a shower. He paused in front of the bedroom door.  
  
Usually Mulder waited until Scully was up to go into the bathroom and take a shower not wanting to invade her privacy, but today he had no choice. He had to meet with Roger in little over an hour and he was pretty sure that Scully would not want to be woken up at this early hour.  
  
He slowly pushed open the door and peeked around the corner to make sure that Scully was asleep. She was and Mulder slowly, quietly started to make his way across the room.  
  
He paused for a second just to look at her. She looked so beautiful and peaceful lying there that he wondered for a second what she would do if he just crawled into bed next to her.  
  
"Probably have me drawn and quartered" he thought to himself as he went into the bathroom and started the shower. He stepped into the hot water feeling his body relaxing under the constant stream of water.  
  
He tried to focus on his upcoming meeting but instead kept wondering about Scully. What would her reaction be to their brief encounter the night before? Would she want to talk about it or ignore it? Was it the start of something bigger between the two of them or just a pleasant experience?  
  
Mulder smiled as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. "Knowing Scully, first she will ignore it, then she will want to talk about it and then she will want to ignore it again."  
  
Scully was somewhat confused when she woke up. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was or what day it was. All she could remember was that she wasn't looking forward to seeing Mulder and she could not remember why.  
  
She lay there a second or two looking up at the ceiling until she became fully awake. Only then did she remember fully the events of the evening before.  
  
"Oh my God, how am I going to face him today after shoving my tongue halfway down his throat last night?" she thought to herself fighting the temptation to pull the covers up over and head.  
  
Ashamed of her timid behavior Scully forced herself to look at the clock. It read almost 9am. She strained her ears but heard nothing.  
  
"Funny" she said to herself "usually I can hear Mulder up and about by now."  
  
Scully flipped off the covers and swung her feet over the side of the bed still not quite sure if she wanted to leave the relative safety of her bed.  
  
"Don't be such a chicken" she scolded herself. "This is the same man who pulled your naked body out of an alien ice block. Surely last night wasn't any worse than that."  
  
She stood up briefly and then sat back down realizing that although she knew that Mulder had already seen her naked she had been pretty much out of it at the time and that the circumstances were quite a bit different.  
  
Last night she almost let him see her naked again - this time without the aliens or the ice.  
  
Shaking her head as if to rid them of negative thoughts, Scully got off the bed, picked up her robe and headed for the kitchen in search of coffee.  
  
Descending the stairs, Scully was surprised not to find Mulder sitting at his computer or in the kitchen as these were his usual haunts in the morning.  
  
"Great, I scared him away" Scully said out loud and she surveyed the living room. Mulder had put away the blanket and pillow he had used the night before and there was no sign of him.  
  
Sighing she walked into the kitchen and immediately spotted the pot of coffee sitting staying warm on the coffee maker.  
  
"At least he didn't leave with the coffee" she joked to herself pouring herself a large cup. It wasn't until she was opening the refrigerator door that she spotted his note sitting on the kitchen counter.  
  
"J - I am off to meet Roger at the club. Will be back as soon as I can. Hope you liked dinner last night as much as I did. R-."  
  
Scully ignored the comment about the previous evening and wondered how Mulder's breakfast meeting with Roger was going.  
  
Mulder gathered together a good number of opinions about his breakfast partner Roger over the few hours they spent together. The first and foremost being that the man could drink - a lot.  
  
Here it was barely nine in the morning and the man was on his third Bloody Mary while Mulder was slowly nursing his first one.  
  
Mulder thought they were going to play golf or tennis or even racquetball but apparently Roger just wanted to get drunk and talk.  
  
"So Richard, it must be nice to have such a beautiful and smart wife" Roger said blurring his words together just a bit.  
  
Mulder just smiled in response.  
  
"Can I ask you something rather personal Richard?" Roger said after motioning the waitress to bring him his fourth drink.  
  
"Sure Roger" Mulder said wondering just how many drinks Roger had in an average day.  
  
"Are redheads as fiery in bed as they say they are? You know, I have slept with a lot of women..more than a lot.and I have never been with a redhead."  
  
Mulder didn't even want to think about what Scully would be like in bed let alone talk about it so he tried to chance the subject. "Lots of women, man are you lucky. Jodi and I have been together more or less since college."  
  
Roger shook his head and seemed to be genuinely sorry for Mulder's plight. "That is too bad my friend when they are so many beautiful women out there who are looking for variety too."  
  
Mulder saw his opening and jumped on it. "There are? How would you know that Roger, haven't you and Wendy been married forever?"  
  
Roger smiled a wicked smile at Mulder. "There are ways to have your cake and eat it too."  
  
"Really" Mulder said taking a big drink of his Bloody Mary.  
  
"Oh yeah" Roger said and he began to talk about how he and Brian had grown rather frustrated with the fact that they were stuck sleeping with only their wives and how one night when they had both been drinking quite a bit they had made a deal to swap wives.  
  
They rather thought that their wives would be hesitant to go along with the idea so they hopped on the internet and started looking up ways to 'loosen' up their wives a bit.  
  
After many days and nights of research, Roger had stumbled upon a small shop in California that specialized in ordorless, flavorless substances that would increase desire with no real side affects.  
  
"Besides cheating your spouse" Mulder thought to himself as he ordered himself another Bloody Mary and encouraged Roger to continue.  
  
Roger, who flew to California several times a year for business, picked up the substance on his next trip and Roger and Brian slipped it into their wives wine over dinner.  
  
"It was unbelievable." Roger was saying "Within a half of hour of drinking the wine, Brian and I were out in the kitchen trying to decide if we should give them another douse and when we returned to the living room they already beginning to grope at each other. Needless to say, it was a very enjoyable evening."  
  
"Weren't they mad at you for slipping them the drug?" Mulder said figuring that Scully would have surely emptied her service weapon into him if he ever pulled such a stunt.  
  
"They were disappointed about not being consulted beforehand but were actually willing to try the substance again - as long as we took some too. Before long, they had told all their friends and our little parties began to grow and grow and Wendy was growing the necessary herbs for the potion out in our garden. Of course, the best stuff still comes from California. Brian and I try to get out there at least a few times a year."  
  
Mulder just sat there when he finished speaking wondering if he was given that opportunity if he would jump on it the way everyone else had.  
  
"So what do you think Richard? Wanna give it a try?"  
  
"I don't know Roger" Mulder started "I am not sure that Jodi would go for it?"  
  
"Who says you have to tell her."  
  
"I don't know if I can just drug her up and set her loose in a room full of strange men."  
  
"I understand completely" Roger said "I felt the same way about Wendy and that's why we always break people in slowly."  
  
He ordered a couple more drinks and began to tell Mulder exactly how they were going to pull it off.  
  
Agnes was pulling weeds out from the garden which separated her driveway from that of her neighbors when she saw a cab pull up. Out of it came a very obviously drunk Mulder.  
  
"Hiya Agnes" he said trying his best not to sway too much. "I just want to thank you for the tea. I don't think I have ever seen my wife as passionate as she was last night."  
  
And with that he staggered to the door wondering how he was going to explain to Scully about being dead drunk before one in the afternoon.  
  
Agnes barely nodded her acknowledgement before heading into her house..  
  
She headed straight to her library going directly to the section dedicated to spells. She ran her finger along the binders until she found the correct book.  
  
"Well, Richard" she said out loud sitting down and opening the page "I need to find out some more about you. I think this should do the trick nicely."  
  
End of chapter 11 


	12. What Have You Been Up To?

Chapter 12 - What Have You Been Up To?  
  
Scully walked slowly back up the street towards her house reflecting back on the past two hours she spent with Brian and Roger's wives - Linda and Wendy.  
  
It had been very strange - to say the least.  
  
At Wendy's invitation, the three women had gathered at her house for coffee and conversation. The coffee was fabulous and the conversation bizarre.  
  
Wendy and Linda did very little but sing the praises of their husbands. Under normal circumstances Scully would have found it very charming, but these women were talking only about their husbands talents in bed.  
  
If that wasn't bad enough, they strongly implied that they had both had incredibly good time with the other's husband as well.  
  
After rattling off the talents of their husbands, Wendy and Linda then began to ask rather pointed questions about Mulder. Obviously if they were going to give their husbands to Scully to play with, they expected something in return.  
  
Scully was torn between finding the entire situation repulsive or incredibly funny. It seemed more like something that would happen in a movie or in a novel than in real life.  
  
The conversation made Scully realize what a fine line she and Mulder were treading. They were getting closer to flushing out the killer but they were also getting much closer to having their bluff called and ending up in a compromising position with one of their neighbors.  
  
Scully knew she didn't really have a claim on Mulder, yet, but she wasn't much in the mood to share him either.  
  
She was just turning into her driveway when she spotted Agnes coming back out to finish up her weeding.  
  
"Good afternoon dear" Agnes said waving and walking over to Scully.  
  
"Good afternoon Agnes, one of these days you really must explain to me how you keep your gardens so beautiful." Scully responded motioning to the endless colorful blooms that separated them.  
  
"All it takes is love and dedication. Enough of that and anything will grow." Agnes was about to ask Scully about the tea she had made her but then she stopped.  
  
Something was different about Scully, she was sure of it. She seemed to be sending out a different aura than she had before.  
  
Agnes made a mental note of this before saying "Your husband is back from his morning outing and if I am not mistaken, he is a bit worse for wear. I have some wonderful cures for hangovers, if he needs one."  
  
Scully frowned at this comment thinking to herself that Mulder barely drank at all and very rarely drank to access. It was impossible for him to be drunk, it wasn't even 2pm yet.  
  
The two ladies parted company with Scully heading towards the house and Agnes towards her flowers.  
  
Scully opened the door and immediately heard the sounds of ESPN blaring a little too loudly from the living room. She shut the door and headed into the room stopping abruptly at the site in front of her.  
  
Mulder was sitting on the couch with his head back, mouth open holding a glass of orange juice, tilted in a most peculiar angle, fast asleep.  
  
"Maybe Agnes was right" Scully said walking over to the TV and turning it off. She removed the glass of orange juice from Mulder's hand and gave him a little poke.  
  
Nothing.  
  
So she gave him a slightly bigger poke.  
  
Still nothing.  
  
Scully smiled despite herself and give him a good shake leaning over him and using both hands.  
  
This finally got his attention and he slowly opened his eyes. He took a minute to focus on her and when he realized who she was, his face broke into an incredible smile.  
  
"Hey Scully" he said talking slowly so he could be understood.  
  
"Hey yourself. Mulder what happened?" Scully said sitting down next to him.  
  
"Roger happened. God, Scully that man can drink. He managed to get five Bloody Marys into me and he had to have had at least two for everyone I had."  
  
"Five. I am surprised you're not sick."  
  
"Oh I was sick. Twice. Brushed my teeth though. see." he blew a breath on her "minty fresh."  
  
"Lovely" Scully said noticing that his breath indeed wasn't too bad for a man who had been sick twice. "Why so many?"  
  
"I think he was trying to loosen me up. To get me to agree to letting him have you."  
  
"Have me?" Scully said thinking she wasn't sure if she wanted to know exactly what he meant by that.  
  
"He wants to screw you Scully. Badly. Very badly. He wanted to know all about what you were like. He wanted to know if you were a fiery red head in bed."  
  
"And what did you tell him?" Scully said trying to keep from blushing.  
  
"I managed to skirt the issue pretty much. That wasn't the hard part."  
  
"Then what was the hard part?" Scully said curious.  
  
"It was really hard to keep my cover when he was pouring drink after drink after drink down me. But it was really, really hard for me not to punch him right in the nose."  
  
"Why would you want to do that?" Scully said hoping she already knew the answer.  
  
"Because he shouldn't be thinking about you that way. If I am not allowed to think about you that way, and I am your husband, then he shouldn't be able to do it either."  
  
"You're not really my husband" Scully said quietly secretly pleased that Mulder felt the urge to defend her honor.  
  
"I'm not? Oh. yeah. I know that, but I am your partner, aren't I? And no ones talks that way about you to me." Mulder said all the while poking Scully in the chest as if to emphasize his point.  
  
Scully looked down at his poking finger and snagged it mid-poke. She smiled at him. "Thanks Mulder - I appreciate it. And just so you know, Roger's wife has got the hots for you big time."  
  
"Yeah? Wendy, the one with the big boobs who likes to wear those low cut blouses?" Scully nodded. "Cool. She's hot."  
  
Scully looked at him trying to remind herself that Mulder was still rather drunk and probably not totally responsible for what he was saying.  
  
She was about to say something when Mulder continued. "But she is not as hot as you."  
  
With that comment, he slowly let his head fall back onto the couch and promptly fell asleep again.  
  
Scully thought about trying to wake him again but decided against it. She left him there to sleep off his Bloody Marys in peace and went over to her computer to complete her request for background checks on everyone in the neighborhood.  
  
The small silver bowl was filled to overflowing and sat in the middle of the small table. It was surrounded by white candles and one large ceramic bowl in which a small bundle of sage was burning.  
  
She stood over the table chanting and beckoning the vision to appear to her in the reflection below her.  
  
It took awhile to clear her mind but when she did, she looked down into the bowl and saw the answer to her question.  
  
"So I was right about you Richard" she said to the image of the dark haired man shining up at her. "That's too bad - I would have rather not had to destroy you."  
  
End of chapter 12. Sorry this one is so short. The next one will be longer, I promise. 


	13. A Different Side Of Scully

Chapter 13 - A Different Side Of Scully  
  
Scully had to admit that she was rather impressed with how Mulder bounced back from his morning's adventure. He slept most of the afternoon, waking just in time to shower and get ready for the party at Roger's.  
  
"How did you manage to get yourself not only sober but ready to drink again in such a short amount of time?" Scully said as she wrapped her sarong around her bathing suit.  
  
Mulder paused a second to watch her admiring her figure in the blue bathing suit she was wearing.  
  
"Orange juice and sleeps - works every time. Well, at least for me it does."  
  
Scully spun slowly around while asking "Did I wrap this around the right way? I have never been very good at this type of thing."  
  
Mulder nodded his head slowly. "Everything looks in place to me Scully. Man, if Roger wanted you before, he is going to be beside himself tonight."  
  
Scully smiled at him. "So let me see if I have got it straight about tonight. Roger wants you to slip me some of his 'magic' potion tonight to see how it works on me. If I pass the test, then we get to move onto bigger and better things?"  
  
"Pretty much. But remember, there is no way I want you to drink that stuff Scully. I will just tell him that I slipped it into your drink and then keep it for evidence."  
  
"I don't get to drink it?" Scully teased "What's the matter Mulder, think you can't handle me?"  
  
Mulder laughed. "I think I would manage somehow although I would be worried that you wouldn't respect me tomorrow morning."  
  
He got serious then. "We may have to, you know, make it look convincing."  
  
Scully smiled thinking how cute Mulder was when he was embarrassed, which wasn't often. "Don't worry about it Mulder. I am sure I will survive whatever you dish out."  
  
Mulder nodded and they left strolling down the street hand-in-hand to Roger's house not realizing that they were being watched.  
  
Brian greeted them warmly at the door and Scully couldn't help but notice that he held her hand a tad longer than was necessary.  
  
"Not him too" she thought to herself as she returned his smile with one of her own. "I think I am going to stick close to Mulder tonight."  
  
Mulder and Scully followed Brian out to the pool while he explained to them the events of the evening. "Tonight, we decided to keep things rather small. Just you two, Roger and Linda and Wendy and myself."  
  
Mulder nodded and gave Scully's hand a brief squeeze acknowledging to her that he smelled the trap into which they were walking. "There is no way" he thought to himself "that I am leaving Scully anywhere near those two guys."  
  
Roger was standing behind the bar at the side of the pool mixing something fruity in the blender. His eyes widened in obvious appreciation of Scully's outfit as he called out his greetings to them both.  
  
"Richard, Jodi it is so great to see you" he said showing no signs of his earlier drinking. "I am making something special. I hope you both like strawberries."  
  
"Love them" Scully said smiling at him. She and Mulder had decided that she would flirt with Roger, just a bit.  
  
"Hi handsome" Wendy said walking up to Mulder and sliding her arm through his. "I hate to take you away from your beautiful wife, but I know you write books and I was wondering if you could look at a little story I have written."  
  
"Sure I would love to" Mulder said allowing himself to be dragged away leaving Scully to accept a frozen drink from Roger.  
  
Wendy led Mulder into a darkened study and began rifling through the papers sitting on a desk.  
  
"I don't mean for you to read it now" she said handing Mulder a stack of about 100 sheets or so "but whenever you have a moment or two."  
  
"I would be happy to" Mulder said eager to get back to Scully. He reached out to grab the papers.  
  
"Ouch" he said pulling one hand away from the stack. His index finger was beginning to show a small drop of blood from where it was pricked.  
  
He hurriedly put the papers back onto the desk and gave his finger a shake to try to stop the stinging.  
  
"Don't do that" Wendy said "it will only make it worse. Let me see it."  
  
Mulder gave her his hand and could not believe it when she took the injured finger and promptly stuck in her mouth. If that wasn't bad enough, she began to suck on it and stroke it carefully with her tongue.  
  
Despite the fact that he was in shock at her actions, Mulder began to felt the faint stir of arousal as she continued to administer her cure on his finger.  
  
After a moment, she stopped and showed him his finger the same way a mother shows a child after applying a bandage.  
  
"See" Wendy said "Good as new."  
  
Wendy then walked over to the desk and shook the stack of papers. A small straight pin fell out and landed on the desk.  
  
They quickly joined the others and Scully and Mulder found themselves relaxing and enjoying the company of the other four. Tonight, unlike the other gatherings, there was no sexual overtone floating just below the surface.  
  
Mulder began to relax a little thinking that perhaps Roger was too drunk that morning to remember his plan to drug Scully on Mulder's behalf.  
  
They had all enjoyed some marvelous swordfish steaks and salad and were busily sipping away on their third round of Roger's frozen drinks, when Wendy and Linda asked Scully to join them in the kitchen to help prepare dessert.  
  
As soon as they were out of the room, Roger smiled slyly at Mulder.  
  
"All taken care of my friend" Roger said jerking his chin in the direction of the kitchen.  
  
"What?" Mulder said trying very hard to sound curious instead of angry. "How? When? I thought you wanted me to do it?"  
  
Roger smiled at him the way a parent would at a child asking silly questions "I was going to let you handle it, but you two have been joined at the hip all night. It was easy, you know that last batch of drinks I made up?"  
  
Mulder nodded and he continued "Special ice."  
  
"But didn't Linda and Wendy have some of that batch too?"  
  
"Yeah" he said smiling an evil grin at Mulder. "I wasn't planning on using it on them tonight, but it will make for a more entertaining evening."  
  
Roger sipped his drink and raised an eyebrow at Brian who was quietly listening to all of this. "Are you up to it tonight? I can whip up another batch for you or we could see if Richard wants to take on all three."  
  
Roger laughed at this "We don't want the man to have a heart attack the first time out. Besides if this is Jodi's first time he will have his hands full enough with her. As far as the other two go, it's been awhile since we have watched them and then enjoyed them when they were done with each other."  
  
Mulder felt like his was stuck inside of one of his porn movies as he looked around hoping that Scully had left her glass behind, but hers along with the other two, were missing.  
  
"Damn" he said trying to think of what to do next.  
  
"So guys like to watch your wife with other people?" Mulder asked trying to stall until he could think of a why to safely get Scully out of there.  
  
Roger chuckled at this. "It does take a bit getting used to - but our little potion can put you in the right frame of mood for anything and everything."  
  
"Really?" Mulder said half wondering to himself what it really would be like to be exposed to a full dose of that stuff in the right situation. "There is no down side to the stuff?"  
  
Brian got a bit serious at this question. "Well, it is a bit addictive. It is like your body craves to be released and the only way you can get the release is by using it."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Inside the kitchen, the three women were chatting away getting out the pie that Wendy had whipped up earlier in the day. What should have been a simple chore taking only a couple of minutes turned into well over a half and hour as Wendy and Linda, once again, started asking Scully about Mulder.  
  
It seemed to be Wendy who was most interested. "I don't know about you Linda" Wendy started "but if my husband looked at good as Richard does, I would demand that he wear nothing but Speedos."  
  
"If Richard were my husband, I would demand that he wear nothing at all." Linda responded bringing on peals of laughter from Wendy. Scully just smiled and tried her best to play along.  
  
More comments along the same lines continued when suddenly Scully started to notice that both Wendy and Linda were starting to touch each other, and her more frequently as they talked.  
  
"I must be crazy" Scully thought as Wendy placed her hand on her arm while emphasizing a point "I am getting as paranoid as Mulder"  
  
And then she wondered "I wonder if I am touching them back?"  
  
Mulder was starting to get worried about Scully and made some mention of being still hungry and checking on what was taking the women so long with the pie.  
  
This, of course, resulted in some very crude comments by the other men about the various uses for pie filling and whether or not the women in the kitchen had come up with any new ones.  
  
Finally Wendy and Linda came out. Linda was holding the pie and Wendy a large can of whipped cream.  
  
Roger and Brian beamed knowingly at each other while Mulder felt like he swallowed lead.  
  
"Where's Jodi?" Mulder said trying to sound interested not worried.  
  
Wendy strolled over to Mulder and slowly dragged one fingernail up his bare stomach then circling it slowly around one nipple. "Don't worry about her, Richard. Linda and I can keep you plenty busy until she gets out of the bathroom."  
  
Mulder pushed her away slowly. "Very tempting Wendy, really but I think I am only going to share my dessert with Jodi tonight."  
  
Wendy pouted slightly and then looked around as if to spot her next victim. Linda was standing next to Roger and she turned her attention to the two of them.  
  
Mulder was so busy watching what was transpiring between the other four people that he didn't notice that Scully had joined the group until he felt her arms wrap around him from behind.  
  
"Hey" she said.  
  
"Sc.Jodi?" Mulder said willing himself not to embarrass himself in front of Roger and Brian although they both seemed to be rather occupied themselves at the moment.  
  
Scully slowly walked around Mulder, never taking her hands off of him. When she reached the other side she put one hand on either side of Mulder's face and pulled him down to kiss her.  
  
Whereas their previous kisses had been tentative, this was filled with passion. Mulder forgot about embarrassing himself as he opened himself to her. She could have pulled him down to the ground and he would have gone willingly without a thought.  
  
She broke off the kiss and looked up at him leaving Mulder's head spinning. If she could get this kind of reaction out of him while he was drug free, he couldn't begin to imagine was his response would be if he had sampled some of the tainted drinks.  
  
The mere thought had him swallowing hard.  
  
"Richard" Scully said her voice husky and low. "I want you. Now. But not here, at home. We haven't properly baptized all the rooms yet. If we start now we should be done by morning."  
  
Brian heard this and let out a long whistle. "Hope you ate your Wheaties this morning, buddy"  
  
Scully saw Mulder look over at Brian and reached down and cupped him. "Do I have your attention now?" she said. When he weakly nodded, she let go of him and took his hand. "I said now."  
  
She dragged him away from the pool and the only thing the other four heard as they rounded the corner of the house was "I think we'll start on the back deck."  
  
They all exchanged smiles knowing that soon they would have some new blood in their group. Once Jodi had experienced sex on the drug, she wouldn't be able to do without it for long.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Scully opened the front door for Mulder and leaned against it as she shut it.  
  
"Come here" she said barely above a whisper.  
  
Mulder who knew he should go running away from her in the opposite direction could not resist her. He stepped towards her and leaned down to kiss her again.  
  
This kiss was as filled with passion as the last one and Mulder could feel himself getting more aroused by the minute.  
  
Apparently, Scully felt it too for she pulled back from him smiling like the Cheshire cat.  
  
"Got you." She said simply releasing his face and instantly transforming herself for the sexy vixen to his regular partner.  
  
"What?" Mulder said totally confused but getting more embarrassed by the minute.  
  
"I said 'got you'" Scully said again walking by him into the kitchen. "You always said I couldn't fool you but tonight I did."  
  
Mulder stomped behind her feeling his anger rise by the moment. "You, you, faked all that?"  
  
"I don't know if I would call it faking per se." she poured water into the coffee pot and switch it on to start brewing.  
  
She then turned to Mulder and continued. "It wasn't like I could just stroll back to the side of the pool, take your hand and walk you out of there. They expected a bit of a show and I gave them one."  
  
Mulder felt anger then embarrassment. He turned from her and walked into the living room, sitting on the couch with his arms on his legs and head down.  
  
"You knew what you had to do? But how?"  
  
"How did I know about the drug?" she asked as she took down two coffee mugs. "Well, while we were talking away in the kitchen the two of them were sipping away at their drinks the whole time. I had decided I didn't want to drink any more and was looking for a way to dump my drink when they weren't looking."  
  
She walked over to the refrigerator and took out the milk. "I started getting suspicious when they both started touching each other, and me, more and more. I knew I was right when Wendy took out the whipped cream and started making suggestions to Linda and I about how we shouldn't waste it on the pie."  
  
Only then did Scully notice how Mulder was sitting. She shook her head wondering to herself why her partner loved to beat up on himself so much.  
  
She walked over and sat down next to him, leaning her face on his hunched back. "If you are wondering how I faked it with you, that was the easy part. I just imagined how I would act if I actually allowed myself to touch you the way I sometimes want to."  
  
Mulder raised his head a bit at this. "Those kisses were real Mulder although I must admit to being scared that you would be appalled by them and push me away."  
  
"I would never push you away Scully" Mulder said sitting back and looking right at her.  
  
Scully felt the moment getting a bit too serious "It wasn't until we were almost back here that I realized that you didn't know that I was faking so I thought I would push the envelope a little bit just to make sure. Forgive me?"  
  
Mulder looked embarrassed again. "Of course Scully, I just.. Oh never mind."  
  
Scully put a finger under Mulder's chin and lifted his face up so he looked her straight in the eye. "Mulder you have no idea how I felt when I realized that I actually." she looked down a bit as if to gather strength to continue "aroused you. It was so tempting just to lead you upstairs and see what would happen. But as you said before, if and when that time comes, I want it to be without any outside suggestions."  
  
Scully took Mulder's hands in hers and he flinched in pain. "What is it?" she said concerned.  
  
Mulder showed her his sore finger and told her about it. "She stuck in her mouth?" Scully said her normal self returning.  
  
"Do you realize how many germs are in the human mouth? I had better clean it for you so it doesn't get infected."  
  
"Are you sure you don't want to suck it and make it better?" Mulder said raising an eyebrow at her.  
  
Scully rose to get her first aid kit. "Mulder if there is sucking to be done, I will not waste my time on your finger."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
End of chapter 13. Comments anyone? 


	14. Someone's Knocking At The Door

Chapter 14 - Someone's Knocking At The Door  
  
Scully was still rather embarrassed by her actions the night before - maybe she had drunk of bit of Brian's magic potion without knowing it. How else could she explain her behavior?  
  
Scully found Mulder in the kitchen going through the morning paper and sipping on his coffee. He looked up her and nodded his good morning greeting to her before returning to the story he was reading.  
  
Apparently, Mulder had decided to forget the events of the night before too. Scully wasn't sure if she was happy or disappointed about that.  
  
She poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table quietly sipping until he was finished with his story, folder up the paper and looked at her.  
  
Mulder knew the moment that Scully walked into the room that she was nervous about what had transpired between the two of them the night before. He had taken his time reading the paper not so much because he was interested in the story, but because he was trying to decide how to best handle Scully.  
  
He decided to have pity on her. "What do you have planned for today Scully?" he said sipping his coffee.  
  
"I think I am going to take a sample of the tea that Agnes wanted you to give me down to the lab for testing. I am very curious to find out exactly what she put in there. You?"  
  
Mulder put down his coffee cup and shrugged. "Not totally sure. May work some more on the background checks for everyone in the neighborhood here or perhaps do some more research into the Gibson family."  
  
"Sounds like a fun-filled day to me" Scully said rising from the table and putting her coffee cup in the sink. "I shouldn't be too long - is there anything on the schedule for this evening?"  
  
"Nothing yet."  
  
"Great. I could do with a quiet evening. Shall I rent us a movie while I am out?" Scully asked putting the sample of tea into her briefcase.  
  
"Sure - just make sure you don't bring home any 'chick flicks'."  
  
Scully smiled at her partner and left Mulder alone with his coffee and paper.  
  
Mulder quickly finished up his reading of the paper and proceeded to log onto his computer. He knew he should work on some more background checks, but his desire to learn more about Agnes, her family and their particular kind of magic won out.  
  
Mulder was so deep in thought that he barely heard the doorbell ring. He rubbed his eyes while getting up and noticed that it was almost lunch time as he headed for the door.  
  
He opened the door to find Wendy standing there holding a stack of papers that Mulder assumed was the story that she wanted him to read the night before.  
  
"Hello Wendy" Mulder said trying very hard to look into Wendy's eyes and not down her plunging neckline.  
  
"Hi Richard." Wendy said pushing her way past Mulder into the house. "I hope you don't mind my popping over like this."  
  
Mulder shook his head. "Of course not. Is that your story?"  
  
"Yes, with all the confusion last night you forgot to take it with you."  
  
"Sorry about that." Mulder said even though he was not sorry at all. "Would you like some coffee?"  
  
"Love some" Wendy purred as she followed him into the kitchen. Mulder wasn't sure why, but his intuition was telling him that something was not right.  
  
His intuition was right.  
  
Wendy waited until Mulder crossed over to the kitchen sink to fill the coffee pot before making her move. She easily trapped him when he turned from the sink.  
  
She took the coffee pot from his hand and placed it on the counter. "Your hand" Wendy said picking up the one he pricked the night before "Does it still hurt?"  
  
At her touch, Mulder felt a strange sensation slowly flow into his body - like he was watching himself in a dream. "A bit."  
  
Wendy pouted at this and brought the hurt finger to her lips. "Let me kiss it and make it better for you."  
  
She placed a small kiss on the tip of his finger and then proceeded to run her tongue around the edge as well.  
  
The strange sensation within Mulder continued. He knew he should pull back but somehow couldn't bring himself to do it. In fact it took a great deal of willpower to get himself to speak.  
  
"Wendy. What are you doing?"  
  
Wendy smiled as she sucked the entire finger into her mouth. She sucked on it for a moment or two watching Mulder's eyes slowly fill with desire.  
  
She slowly released his finger and then answered his question. "I just wanted to know if what I felt happening between us last night was real or just a figment of my imagination."  
  
She turned Mulder's hand palm up and traced the lines on it with her tongue. She smiled again this time not looking at Mulder's eyes, but his crotch. "Judging but what I am seeing, it is real, very real."  
  
Mulder felt his arousal start to stir with her first touch. It was as if every nerve ending in his body was on high alert and sending sensual feelings to his groin.  
  
He heard a sound and realized it was his own groan as she pulled him towards her and slowly rubbed her body against his.  
  
"Oh yes Richard what we have is definitely real." She put a hand on either side of his head and pulled him down to kiss her.  
  
Scully pulled into the driveway of the house and gave a small sigh. "It is good to be home" she thought to herself and she picked up her briefcase and the two movies she had chosen. "Pizza and a movie - it doesn't get much better than that."  
  
Scully opened up the front door and placed her briefcase on the small hall table, reaching into it to pull out the results of her lab tests. She couldn't wait to tell Mulder about them.  
  
She called out to him as she pushed the door of the kitchen open. "Mulder, you will never believe what I.."  
  
The rest of what Scully was going to say froze in her throat. There in front of her were Mulder and Wendy. Not only were they kissing in a most passionate manner, but Wendy was busily working on getting Mulder's zipper down.  
  
Scully stood there mouth open unable to believe what she was witnessing. She must have gasped out loud for Wendy pulled herself away from Mulder and looked at her.  
  
"Well, Richard, guess you and I will have to finish this up another time. That is unless your beautiful wife would like to join us?"  
  
Wendy took another look at the scowl on Scully's face before continuing. "Well maybe next time." She patted Mulder on the face and turned to walk out of the room pausing right in front of Scully.  
  
She reached out and stroked Scully on the face almost wistfully. "You are a beautiful woman." she said as she continued her stroking. "I may just have to have you next."  
  
And with that she was gone.  
  
Agnes was waiting for Wendy as she left the house. As soon as she was through the door, Agnes crossed over to her and grabbed her arm.  
  
"Leave him alone" she hissed at Wendy. "He is in love with her."  
  
Wendy just smiled at the older woman and forcibly removed her hand from her arm. "Well, he may love her but he wants me. And even more importantly, I want him and I always get what I want."  
  
Having found herself free of Agnes, she smiled an evil smile at her. "He will be mine, all mine, by the end of the week."  
  
Wendy then walked down the street planning her conquest and wondering why Jodi would call him 'Mulder'.  
  
As soon as he could not longer feel her touch, Mulder slowly came back to reality. With that reality came the knowledge that Scully, who was still standing in the middle of the kitchen with her mouth open, had walked into the kitchen at a most inopportune time.  
  
Mulder blinked once then twice and shook his head to clear the last of the cobwebs. "Scully" he said taking a step towards her.  
  
She raised her hand to stop him. "Not now Mulder."  
  
Mulder tried desperately to read her face but it gave no clue of what emotions were roaring behind those blue eyes. The walls he had been working so hard to bring down were once again in place and even stronger than before.  
  
He had no choice but to let her walk away.  
  
End of chapter 14. 


	15. I Will Survive

Chapter 15 - I Will Survive  
  
Mulder walked into the living room and did something he very rarely did. He walked over to where the liquor was stored and poured himself a good stiff drink of whiskey.  
  
He made a slight face as he quickly drank the liquid feeling it first burn his throat and then send a slow feeling of warmth throughout his body. He paused a second before taking another quick shot, then picked up the bottle and walked over to the couch.  
  
Mulder placed the bottle of whiskey and the glass on the coffee table and then leaned forward his face in his hands. He didn't want to think about what had just transpired but he had to.  
  
He had to make at least himself understand why he let Wendy do what she did. If he couldn't explain it to himself, he definitely wouldn't be able to explain it to Scully.  
  
That is if he ever got the chance to explain. He shuttered and took another shot of whiskey as he remembered the look of shock turning into one of pain when his partner had first realized what was happening.  
  
How could he ever get her to forgive him? He wasn't sure he could forgive himself.  
  
All he really could remember was Wendy following him into the kitchen and trapping him by the sink and laying her hands on him. The rest was mostly a blur until Wendy had stepped away from him and he had seen Scully standing there.  
  
Mulder knew it had been a long time since he had truly been with a woman. His hormones were racing at even a higher throttle with all that was going on between him and Scully. But was he so desperate that he would succumb to the first touch of the first woman who came along?  
  
He hadn't thought so, but obviously that appeared to be the case.  
  
Mulder sat back, sighed and thought about Wendy. He had to admit that she was an attractive woman who he had noticed almost immediately during the first party Scully and he had attended.  
  
He had also noticed immediately that Wendy had the type of presence and personality that drew people to her. He hadn't thought her as being all that sexual - at least until the night before.  
  
After those few moments alone together it seemed like the mere sight of her got him aroused. But why?  
  
Mulder thought and analyzed and thought some more and the only thing he could think of was deprivation. He was as horny as hell and whereas his mind was willing to wait for as long as it took to bring Scully around, his body wanted action and wanted it now.  
  
"Could it be as simple as that?" Mulder said to himself pouring another shot of whiskey. "Am I really that pathetic?"  
  
He drank the whiskey down a bit slower this time. His motions were getting slower as the effects of the whiskey made themselves felt. "She is better off without me."  
  
The only thought Scully had as she walked out of the kitchen was to run. Run as fast and as far as she could away from Fox Mulder.  
  
She grabbed her purse and hurried into the garage not wanting Mulder to catch her. Scully doubted that he would follow her and part of her was disappointed when she was able to climb into the car and hurry down the street without him even making an effort to stop her.  
  
She vaguely remembered seeing Agnes standing in one of her gardens looking at her with concern as she backed out of the driveway and headed down the street in the opposite direction from where Wendy would be walking.  
  
That was her last conscious thought. After that she drove on autopilot - aimlessly driving around Minneapolis stopping only to refill her tank and grab a quick cup of coffee.  
  
When she grew too weary to drive any further, she pulled into a parking lot and turned off her car. Only then did she take the time to notice where she was.  
  
Scully was sitting in front of a large cathedral made of stone. She smiled to herself as she acknowledged the fact that at least her subconscious mind was trying to help her find peace.  
  
Scully got out of the car and after glancing at her watch, realized there was a very good reason for the stiffness that encompassed her body. She had been driving around for close to four hours.  
  
She slowly walked up the stairs and into the church. It was very quiet with only one other person - a man sitting with his head bowed in prayer - sitting in the front pew.  
  
Scully genuflected and got into the back pew. She dropped down on her knees and said a quick prayer, as she always did for her father and sister, and then she just let the silence surround her.  
  
It was only when her heart had stilled that she allowed a tear to fall.  
  
She sat silently still letting her mind clear itself and giving herself the opportunity to, for the first time, really think about what she had witnessed.  
  
On the one hand, Scully was perfectly aware that she had no real claim over Mulder. Both of them were free to date whomever they wished whenever they wanted.  
  
But up until today, neither of them had chosen to do so.  
  
Scully thought about the implied promise of a deepening of their relationship upon their return to DC. Perhaps Mulder was just sowing his wild oats while he could.  
  
Or, maybe Mulder was just playing his role as Richard Buckland. He knew he had to stir up the pot a bit to try and get a reaction out of Agnes. Maybe he was just doing that.  
  
"No, it's not that" Scully murmured to herself. If that was the case, Mulder would have done his pawing of Wendy out where someone could see them, not in his own kitchen.  
  
Scully sighed deeply and tried to figure out which disappointed her more. The fact that Mulder was kissing another woman - and by all appearances enjoying it very much - or that she was incredibly hurt and jealous by his actions.  
  
Unable to answer this question herself, she bent her head again to ask for guidance from her God.  
  
She had seen Scully stormed out of the house and knew that soon her opportunity would come.  
  
She was frankly quite surprised to find both the garage door and the door into the house open. In her effort to flee as quickly as possible, Scully had forgotten to shut them.  
  
She walked into the room and found it to be completely silent except for a small sound emanating from the living room.  
  
Going into the living room, she found Mulder sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep and snoring quietly.  
  
She shook her head as she glanced from Mulder, to the empty whiskey bottle, to the shot glass lying on its side on the floor back to Mulder again.  
  
"This is going to be easier than I thought" she said to herself as she withdrew a small vial of bluish liquid from her pocket. Originally she had thought to pour into the liquid into something he would drink, but now all she would have to do was to use the eye dropper and put the liquid directly into his slightly open mouth.  
  
She bent over Mulder and noticed as she brought the eye dropper closer, that his face showed signs of freshly fallen tears. "Poor guy" she thought as she easily administered her potion "Perhaps you really do love her after all. But think wisely my friend, for if you do not follow your heart down the right path I will see you dead."  
  
She stroked his forehead tenderly for a second and then left the house, closing the door behind her.  
  
It was completely dark when Mulder managed to open his eyes. As soon as he did, he wanted nothing more than to close them again.  
  
He glanced at the coffee table and saw the empty whiskey bottle. The mere sight of the bottle made him groan.  
  
Mulder forced himself into an upright position and with a bit of effort managed to stand. He was a bit wobbly but got himself into the kitchen and opened up the fridge.  
  
He grabbed the carton of orange juice and was about to take a drink when a wave of nausea hit him. He barely made it to the kitchen sink before relieving himself of most of the whiskey that was still sitting in his stomach.  
  
Mulder waited a moment to make sure he was done, and then headed for the bathroom to brush his teeth. It was while doing this that he noticed the clock sitting by the bed.  
  
It read 9:30 - he had been sleeping for hours.  
  
Only after brushing his teeth and drinking a good quart of orange juice did his head clear enough for him to realize that Scully still hadn't returned to the house.  
  
Mulder reached for his cell phone and quickly punched in her number - all he got in return was a message asking him to leave a message.  
  
He didn't bother. He knew that if she wanted to talk to him, she would have left the phone on.  
  
Suddenly Mulder felt the overwhelming need to find his partner. To not only make sure that she was all right, but that they were all right too.  
  
He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door not knowing exactly where he was going.  
  
Mulder wasn't really surprised to find her there, sitting quietly in the pew lost in her own thoughts. He was only surprised that he had thought to look for her here in the first place.  
  
He quietly approached her and stood silently waiting.  
  
Scully felt his presence and slowly opened her eyes and turned to him. He could tell instantly that she had been crying and it broke his heart to know that he had brought her so much pain.  
  
Scully silently rose and walked past him out of the church.  
  
He followed her waiting for her lead on how to proceed.  
  
She said nothing, just got in her car and drove back to the house. Mulder followed her wondering how he could possibly cross the gap that had come between them.  
  
End of Chapter 15 


	16. Where Do We Go From Here?

Chapter 16 - So Where Do We Go From Here?  
  
Mulder arrived back at the house only a few minutes after Scully did. He entered the house to find her filling the coffee pot and pulling out the cookie jar.  
  
She grabbed a couple of cookies and motioned for him to have a seat at the kitchen table.  
  
Mulder did so, bracing himself for her interrogation of his actions, but she surprised him by sitting down and removing a manila folder from her briefcase.  
  
Even before she spoke, Mulder knew that what had happened that afternoon was being added to their very long list of 'things that happened between us that we will ignore forever'.  
  
"I ran tests on the tea that Agnes made for me" she said her face showing absolutely no emotion.  
  
"And?" Mulder replied  
  
"And, it was nothing but a bunch of dried herbs. It seems she gave me a placebo."  
  
"Really? I wonder why?"  
  
"Perhaps Agnes had more faith in Jodi that Richard did" Scully said in a mocking tone of voice.  
  
Mulder's eyebrows went up at this comment. Maybe he and Scully would talk after all.  
  
"Or maybe she wanted Richard to fail so he would want to look elsewhere."  
  
Scully looked at him and Mulder thought he saw a bit of hurt in her eyes.  
  
"Perhaps" Scully replied. "No matter what her reason for doing it, there is no way to link the tea she made with the crimes you think she committed."  
  
"So where do we go from here?" Mulder said getting up and going over to the coffee pot. He raised his eyebrows to question Scully if she wanted a cup.  
  
She shook her head. "No, I made that for you. Judging by what I saw in the living room, I thought you might need it."  
  
"Thanks partner." Mulder said a bit sheepishly.  
  
Scully walked over to him and placed her hand gently on his back. "Don't worry Mulder, no matter what may come between us, you can always count on me to cover your back."  
  
Leaving Mulder to pour his coffee, she walked into the living room and picked up the empty bottle and glass. She had been quite surprised to find them when she had walked into the house knowing that Mulder never drank alone.  
  
She placed the bottle and glass on the kitchen counter and raised her eyebrow at Mulder - giving him a chance to explain why he had drunk the whole bottle.  
  
Mulder looked at Scully and then at the bottle. "I messed up big time, didn't I Scully?" he said barely able to meet her eyes.  
  
"Yeah you did" she answered.  
  
"Are we going to be okay?" he asked wanting desperately to take her into his arms but knowing she would never allow it.  
  
"To be honest with you Mulder, I don't know." Scully reached over and stroked Mulder's cheek. "I hope so, but I really don't know."  
  
Mulder nodded. "What about the case?"  
  
Scully smiled weakly at him. "Not to worry Mulder, Jodi has no plans to leave Richard just yet. She will stick with him at least until the big party."  
  
Mulder groaned. He had forgotten about the party which Roger had told him about. It was a costume party with prizes going to the wildest outfit. From what Roger implied, this would be their big opportunity to flush out the murdered.  
  
But the party was three days away. Mulder hoped Scully and he could get along until then.  
  
After their brief conversation that night, it seemed to Mulder that he barely saw Scully. She rose, showered quickly and then found some excuse to go out to the local FBI headquarters every day before having any breakfast. She often didn't return until dinner time and then the only thing they discussed were her findings for the day.  
  
Mulder knew perfectly well that Scully could have performed all of her research using her laptop, but said nothing. Scully wanted some space between them and after what he had done to her, he was happy to oblige.  
  
He spent his time puttering around the house working on field reports and doing massive research on the internet. He knew the key to the murders was Agnes but he just couldn't find the smoking gun that would prove him right.  
  
On the second morning he had been busily making himself a cup of coffee when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind. Scully had left for the research lab well over an hour ago but had probably forgotten something which had prompted her return.  
  
Mulder turned around about to address his partner when he froze in his tracks. The woman standing in front of him was definitely not Scully.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he said rather annoyed.  
  
The woman he was addressing gently touched his arm and the look of annoyance vanished immediately. It was replaced by one of total peace.  
  
"Now, that's better" she said gently taking his hand and leading him into the living room.  
  
They sat on the couch and she was careful not to release his hand.  
  
"Tell me" she said with some authority "who you really are."  
  
Mulder looked at her, paused for a second as if trying to decide whether or not to answer her but then did. "Fox Mulder"  
  
"Why are you here Fox Mulder?"  
  
"I work for the FBI. I have come to catch the murderer."  
  
The woman's eyes widened considerably. "How fascinating. And your wife?"  
  
Mulder smiled at the thought of Scully. "She's my partner."  
  
"Your partner. Very interesting. Are you two involved?"  
  
Mulder looked sheepishly at her. "No, not yet."  
  
The woman nodded at this. "One hour after you leave the party you will meet me by the Mile High Bridge. Understand?"  
  
"I understand"  
  
"You will remember nothing of this conversation Fox but will have a wonderful time at Roger's party - for it will be your last. Close your eyes, count to 100 and then return to where you were in the kitchen."  
  
The woman released her hand and left the house to the sound of Mulder softly counting to himself ringing in her ears.  
  
Mulder picked up his coffee mug wondering how it could have possibly cooled off so quickly. He had thought, for a moment, that he had heard the sound of Scully's approaching footsteps but upon turning saw nothing.  
  
He shook his head and returned to his computer.  
  
Scully had brought back pizza and beer with her and she and Mulder sat at the kitchen table eating in silence. Scully had regretted her avoidance of Mulder and was hoping that the beer would help loosen them both up a bit.  
  
They were just finishing up their pizza and opening up their second bottle of beer when the doorbell rang.  
  
Scully got up quickly looking over at Mulder who shrugged. Scully walked over to the door hoping that it wasn't Wendy coming to pay them a call.  
  
It wasn't. It was Roger.  
  
"Good evening Roger" Scully said opening the door and letting him enter the house.  
  
"Good evening Jodi" Roger replied after allowing himself to truly take in Scully's appearance.  
  
Scully followed Roger into the living room feeling a bit embarrassed by his gaze.  
  
"Roger" Mulder said walking over to him and extending his hand. "To what do we owe this honor?"  
  
Roger pumped Mulder's hand "Just wanted to make sure that you two were coming to our little party tomorrow night."  
  
"We wouldn't miss it for anything" Mulder said noticing for the first time that Roger seemed to be unable to keep his eyes off Scully. "Would we sweetheart?"  
  
Scully who was fighting the urge to squirm under Roger's constant gaze smiled flirtatiously at Roger. "I am looking forward to it" she said in a voice that seemed to Mulder to drip of sexual innuendo.  
  
Roger must have noticed too for his smiled broadened and he became bold enough to practically stare at Scully's chest - which was rather well displayed in the tight t-shirt she was wearing.  
  
"Wonderful. I know Wendy is looking forward to having a dance with Richard and I was hoping to keep you occupied on the dance floor during your husband's absence."  
  
It took every ounce of control to keep Mulder from punching Roger right in the nose. He was practically asking Scully to sleep with him right in front of him.  
  
Scully said nothing but just smiled a sexy little smile at Roger.  
  
"Wonderful" Roger said again. "I will leave you two to finish up your costumes and will see you tomorrow at eight."  
  
Scully started towards the door to walk Roger out but Mulder slyly cut her off and saw Roger out himself. Scully smiled to herself as she realized that Mulder was acting like a jealous husband.  
  
"Can you believe him?" Mulder began to rant as soon as Roger cleared their driveway. "The way he was coming on to you?"  
  
"Oh, I've seen worse" Scully said dryly going to the kitchen to retrieve their beers.  
  
Mulder stopped his ranting at this and took his beer from Scully in silence.  
  
"I suppose our course has been pretty much decided for us" Scully said taking a large swig of beer. "Apparently you have been chosen for Wendy and I get Roger"  
  
She watched Mulder scowl at the thought of tomorrow night's party even as she admitted to herself that she could think of worse things than having to kiss the very handsome Roger.  
  
Mulder sat down abruptly on the couch and Scully sat down too - on the far end of the couch. If Mulder noticed the literal distance between them, he didn't mention it when he started to speak.  
  
"Scully, we have to finalize our plans."  
  
"Do you still want me to burst in before you and Wendy."  
  
Mulder cut her off immediately. "Of course I do. Do you really think that I want to be with that woman?"  
  
"You did seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit the other day. Or did my eyes deceive me?" Scully said surprised with how angry she was. She sounded like a jilted wife.  
  
Mulder turned to her and looked her straight in the eye his face red with anger. "And what choice did I really have? Should I have pushed her away and possibly wrecked our case?"  
  
Scully looked away but he moved closer to her and took her face in his hands forcing her to look at him. "I thought she only meant to kiss me. Believe me I was surprised as you were when she decided to be so bold. As far as my reaction goes, I would imagine if you were in a similar situation with Roger" he said the name as if it were poison "and he was stroking you the way she was stroking me, that your body would respond even if your mind didn't want it to."  
  
Scully blinked at him not knowing what to say. Even now her body was responding to his words in a way that her mind found quite annoying.  
  
Mulder dropped his hands from her face and sighed. He spoke softly now. "Scully, she is nothing to me. Do you believe me?"  
  
Scully nodded and picked up one of his hands and brought it to her cheek. She left it pressed there for a moment and then turned it over and kissed it right in the middle of the palm.  
  
Scully dropped his hand then whispering "I am going to take a long hot bath Mulder and then go to bed."  
  
Mulder sat back on the couch and sipped his beer trying very hard not to think of his partner lying naked in the bathtub upstairs.  
  
End of chapter 16 - only one or two chapters left to go. 


	17. Tonight's The Night

Chapter 17 - Tonight's the night  
  
Scully didn't go to the office the following morning but decided instead to do her work using her laptop. Mulder saw this as a minor victory and was happy to just be in the same vicinity as her again.  
  
Over lunch, they discussed their plans for the evening, how they would avoid eating or drinking anything at the party lest their judgment be impaired.  
  
They planned without ever mentioning the names of either Roger or Wendy although both Mulder and Scully knew that the two would be major players before the evening was over.  
  
It was decided that Scully would drop over to see Agnes sometime during the day to ask for some advice on how to handle the party.  
  
Everything had been discussed at great lengths with the exception of their costumes.  
  
"Why won't you tell me what you will be wearing?" Scully asked as she cleared away the lunch dishes.  
  
"For the same reason you won't tell me." Mulder said with a smile. He had picked out his costume with his partner in mind and didn't want to ruin the surprise.  
  
"I don't want to tell you because you will just make fun of me and then I won't want to wear it" Scully said faking a small pout.  
  
"Nonsense Scully - let me guess? Little Bo Peep?"  
  
"No - you can keep on guessing but I am not going to tell you. I am, however, going to pop over to see Agnes now." Scully replied as she left the room.  
  
"Bo Derek" Mulder yelled as she walked through the door.  
  
A few minutes later Mulder heard the sound of unexpected footsteps behind him and had a strange sensation of deja-vous.  
  
He turned around and found Scully walking towards him.  
  
"Back so soon?" he asked.  
  
"Agnes was on her way out the door when I got there. Apparently she had some very important errand to run. All she said to me was to 'take care' and to wear this around my neck." Scully showed Mulder a small pendant made out of what appeared to be hematite.  
  
"Hematite? I think she is trying to protect you from something. Make sure you wear it."  
  
"Wear it? Surely you don't believe that this" she waved the pendant in his face "is actually going to protect me?"  
  
Mulder shrugged. "What harm could it do? In fact, let's put it on your right now - just to be on the safe side."  
  
Scully was about to argue with him but knew it would be useless. If wearing this little piece of shiny stone would make Mulder feel better she would do it.  
  
Mulder's touch was light as he placed the necklace around her neck. He pushed her hair aside and thought he felt her tremble ever-so-slightly at the feel of his touch.  
  
He fought the temptation to kiss her neck as he smoothed the hair back in place and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He turned her around so she stood facing him.  
  
"You will be careful tonight, won't you Scully?"  
  
Scully nodded and frowned at him. "Why are you so worried? We have been on more dangerous assignments than this."  
  
"I am not sure. I just have a feeling in my gut that something may go wrong tonight and I may not be there for you when it does."  
  
Scully reached up and stroked his cheek. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."  
  
Mulder pulled on the white officer's jacket and buttoned it up looking at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in Navy whites from head to toe and the uniform seemed to suit him quite well.  
  
He remembered that Scully had mentioned how much she had loved Richard Gere in "An Officer And A Gentleman" and since he was borrowing the actor's name for this case he thought he would borrow his attire too.  
  
He just hoped Scully got everything that the uniform implied. Even if he wasn't able to sweep her off her feet that night, he would love to do so in the future.  
  
Mulder walked into the living room and glanced at his watch. He was getting a bit nervous even if they did have a good half hour before they had to be there.  
  
"Where is she?" he thought to himself. One of the things Mulder appreciated about Scully was the fact that she could always get ready in a hurry.  
  
Tonight, however, seemed to be an exception to this rule.  
  
He was about to call up to her when he heard the clatter of heels on the wooden floors above. Not normal heels his mind told him, but stiletto heels.  
  
Mulder had a strong feeling that he was going to be in big trouble.  
  
He was right. He barely could breathe as Scully slowly made her way down the stairs.  
  
Mulder had been right about the stilettos. She wore thigh high black leather boots that featured four inch heels that were designed to make any man think of nothing but bedding the wearer immediately.  
  
If the boots were not enough, above them she wore a skin tight black dress also made entirely out of black leather. The zipper on the dress's front had been left precariously down so that when Scully moved, you could catch small glimpses of the black lace bra she wore underneath.  
  
Mulder stood there, hat in hand with his mouth open in total shock.  
  
Scully enjoyed his reaction for she hadn't been sure if he would appreciate her appearance or break out in laughter at the sight of her.  
  
She was also glad of the fact that while Mulder was busy gawking at her, she could gawk right back at him.  
  
Scully looked down at him and knew instantly why women were so turned on by a man in uniform. The simple white uniform had transformed her already good looking partner into one who was absolutely gorgeous.  
  
She smiled at Mulder as she walked over to him. "You may want to close your mouth Agent Mulder before a fly flies in"  
  
Mulder snapped his mouth shut and walked slowly around her. "Christ Scully" he said his breath a bit ragged "the men tonight aren't going to need any of that potion once they get a load of you."  
  
He stopped in front of her and tugged her zipper up a bit. "You are lucky I have such good self control."  
  
Scully pulled the zipper back down again, noticing that by all appearances, Mulder didn't have all that much self control.  
  
"Nice uniform Richard - is it the same one you used in the movie?" she purred as she smoothed the front of his jacket.  
  
Mulder looked at her fighting the urge to kiss her and drag her upstairs right then and there. "Tell me that you bought that outfit" he said trying desperately not to stare at her chest. "and that you will be bringing it back to DC with you."  
  
"I thought I would wear it the next time Skinner wants to chew us out. Maybe it will distract him a bit."  
  
"I think he will promote you on the spot."  
  
They both chuckled at that before Mulder put his cap on his head and offered her his arm. "This is it Mrs. Buckland. Shall we go?"  
  
Agnes watched from her porch as they two of them strutted down the street. She had spent the majority of the afternoon gazing into her reflecting pan trying to decide how best to handle the events she knew that would come.  
  
She didn't like any of her choices and prayed that what she had seen would not come to pass. But it would - she had yet to be wrong.  
  
Roger took one look at Scully and found himself counting the seconds until he could tactfully get her away from her husband and have her all to herself.  
  
Unfortunately there were certain rules to these parties and those rules could not be changed - no matter how much pain his aroused state was causing him.  
  
Wendy, however, never felt obliged to play by the rules and began to eye Mulder openly as soon as he and Scully had entered the room.  
  
She was dressed in an outfit that seemed reminiscent of the Star Trek TV show from the 1960's. Her dress was very short, very low cut and she too had killer boots on.  
  
Wendy had to acknowledge to herself that Scully looked great. The outfit she had chosen had transformed her from a pretty woman to a woman who oozed sex out of every pore.  
  
So much so, that Wendy thought to herself that maybe she would treat Mulder to a threesome just so she could sample Scully herself.  
  
"Enough thought of that" she said to herself as she walked over to Mulder and Scully "You two look fabulous. I hope you ate your Wheaties this morning because the way you two look, you are both going to be very busy tonight."  
  
With that said, she walked away but only after trailing her finger along Mulder's arm. Scully saw a strange look come across Mulder's face at Wendy's touch but thought it was only that he was nervous about what was going to be happening later that evening.  
  
She pushed the thought out of her mind - she was too worried about Roger. He had barely been able to take his eyes off of her since she had arrived.  
  
The party proceeded along as the others did but it was obvious that this party was going to be different. Even before Brian and Roger began to pass out their special cocktails, the air was filled with sexual tension.  
  
Mulder and Scully managed to avoid taking any of the drinks given to them and watched in awe as the people around them seem to be slowly transformed into sex starved beasts.  
  
Mulder looked down at Scully and smiled weakly at her as he pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. He was trying to follow the lead of the other men in the room by pulling her closer to him and occasionally nibbling on her neck and stroking her body.  
  
Under normal circumstances both would have enjoyed the contact, but tonight they were both too nervous about playing their roles correctly. One mistake might not only blow their case but cost Mulder his life as well.  
  
Mulder bent over Scully and whispered into her ear as he slowly licked it. Despite her nervousness, Scully couldn't help but snuggle a bit closer to him. "Remember, don't leave me in there with her any longer than you have to."  
  
Scully leaned her head back and pulled down his head so his lips were almost touching hers. "No more than 10 - here she comes."  
  
Wendy who was at this point oozing sex from every pore of her body came sauntering over to them. "Sorry to break up the cozy little scene but it's against the rules to only play with the person you came with."  
  
She walked away a step or two then curled her finger at Mulder motioning him to follow her. He did, but only after bending over and giving Scully a deep kiss. He winked at her and disappeared into one of the many bedrooms.  
  
Before Scully had a chance to catch her breathe, Roger was by her side pulling her onto the dance floor. Scully tried her best to smile flirtatiously at him but then realized that he was probably too far gone to even really notice what she was doing.  
  
Roger pulled her close and they swayed slowly to the music. Despite the fact that she was mentally keeping track of the time in her head, Scully had to admit that she enjoyed the feel of Roger wrapped around her.  
  
And judging from what was pushing itself against her stomach, Roger was enjoying it to. Scully did her best to try and relax and enjoy the moment figuring that the time would pass much quicker if she did.  
  
She had her scheme all mapped out in her head. She would wait for Roger to make his move and then freak out and frantically start looking for Mulder. After she found him, she would demand that they both head home. There she would wait for Agnes to find out about Mulder was up to and make her move.  
  
Roger seemed to be doing his best to keep us his end of the deal. He was slowly stroking Scully's back moving lower with every stroke.  
  
It felt wonderful and Scully was very glad that she had managed to stay clear of Roger's special drinks. If she hadn't she would have been in very big trouble.  
  
Roger bent down and kissed her. First on the neck and then on the cheek and then ever so lightly on her lips. Scully kissed him back trying to not loose track of what time it was - just a minute or two more.  
  
Wendy slowly shut the door behind Mulder and walked over to him enjoying the fact that his eyes showed just a small amount of fear as she approached him.  
  
The look disappeared immediately as soon as she put her two hands on his chest and moved them up slowly until they were wrapped around his neck. She pulled him down and kissed him.  
  
Wendy looked deep into his eyes. "We are going to have a lot of fun tonight you and I." She took his hand and led him over to a large arm chair. She sat in it and motioned for him to kneel down in front of her.  
  
She sat down in the chair and put one long leg up on his shoulder revealing to Mulder that she was wearing absolutely nothing under her very short skirt.  
  
"Me first" she said smiling like the Cheshire Cat. "Satisfy me and I will make you a very, very happy man."  
  
Roger and Scully were still slowly turning on the dance floor. Scully was beginning to get frustrated with the gentlemanlike manner in which Roger was treating her. Never in her life did she think she would want a man to grope on her. But now she did - desperately.  
  
Finally Scully noticed that Roger was beginning to move one of his hands off of her back and towards her front. After what seemed to be an eternity, he finally began to massage her breast.  
  
For a second Scully forgot her master plan, Roger's touch felt so good, but then she pushed him away and started blabbering her apologizes to him.  
  
Roger was shocked and tried to comfort her but Scully would hear none of it. "I want to find Richard and I want to go home" Scully said stomping her foot for emphasize.  
  
She headed straight for the door through which Mulder had disappeared and opened it without even knocking to announce her arrival.  
  
Scully stormed into the room and stopped dead in her tracks not believing her eyes. Surely Mulder couldn't be doing what it looked like he was doing.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of chapter 17. 


	18. You Need To Choose

Chapter 18 - You Need To Choose Mulder  
  
Scully blinked with disbelief at the image in front of her. There on the armchair sat Wendy with one leg perched on Mulder's shoulder.  
  
And Mulder was kneeling in front of her, with one hand holding the leg to which he was administering small licks and kisses and judging by the small moans coming from Wendy, Scully was very happy she could not see what the other hand was doing.  
  
She took a deep breath and said "Richard"  
  
Mulder didn't seem to hear her, but Wendy did. She opened her eyes and Scully could see they were filled with desire. She smiled a wicked smile at Scully.  
  
"Couldn't stay away? Well, I am sure we can find some way to incorporate you into our little plans."  
  
Scully's eyes grew huge at the thought. "Who would you like to service you first my dear. Me or your husband?"  
  
Having definitely heard enough Scully grabbed Mulder's shoulder and hissed "Richard I want to leave and I want to leave now!"  
  
Mulder still didn't seem to hear her and she yanked at him with all her might. He stumbled backwards and looked up at her a bit puzzled.  
  
Not waiting for his head to clear, Scully grabbed his hand and pulled at him to stand up. "We are leaving here now" she said with a panic in her voice that was not longer just acting. "We don't belong here. We are going home."  
  
With that she took Mulder by the arm and dragged him from the house. He said nothing but allowed himself to be led without putting up any fight.  
  
As soon as Scully had dragged him far enough away from the house, she dropped his arm and turned on him. "What was that all about?" she said trying very hard not to yell her question at the top of her lungs.  
  
Mulder who finally seemed to be coming out of his daze answered quietly. "What was what all about? I have no idea what you are talking about."  
  
Scully's mouth dropped open at this and she turned on her heel and stormed up the street back to their house. Mulder followed behind her frantically trying to think of what he did wrong this time.  
  
Both were so wrapped up in their swirling emotions, that neither of them spotted Agnes sitting on her porch swing slowly shaking her head at the sight of them.  
  
"Scully" Mulder said as soon as he had shut the door "I honestly don't know what has gotten you so upset."  
  
Scully stopped in her tracks and turned to face him with nothing but pure anger burning in her eyes. "You really don't know. Why don't you go ask Wendy?"  
  
"Wendy?" Mulder said still confused.  
  
"Wendy, you know the woman you were just with. Christ Mulder you reek of her scent and you claim you don't know what is bothering me?"  
  
Mulder just stood there not knowing what to say. Scully glared at him one more time then headed for the stairs. "I am getting out of this outfit and taking a nice hot shower. Perhaps by the time I am done, your memory will have returned."  
  
Mulder watched her storm up the stairs having absolutely no idea what to do next.  
  
The shower and more comfortable clothes helped Scully's mood but not much. She was still furious at Mulder for taking his role tonight so seriously and even more furious at herself for being so upset by it.  
  
"Thank God we will be going home soon" she said to herself as she turned off her bedroom light and headed for the stairs. "I just don't know if I can stand being around him much longer."  
  
She walked down the stairs and into the living room but found it to be empty. She checked the kitchen, the basement family room, both bedrooms and baths and found them all empty as well.  
  
Mulder was gone.  
  
All of a sudden the anger she was feeling was replaced by pure panic. She had been so mad at Mulder that she hadn't even thought about whether or not their little plan had worked.  
  
Apparently it had.  
  
She grabbed her service weapon and identification and ran over to see Agnes.  
  
Scully pushed pass Agnes when she opened the door.  
  
"Where is he Agnes?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
Scully turned towards the woman as she dug out her id. "I am with the FBI Agnes, tell me when my partner is."  
  
Agnes did not seem to be at all surprised at the revelation that her neighbors weren't who they said they were. "I knew you two were hiding something - but I didn't want to look too deeply."  
  
Scully glared at her ignoring her comments. "Richard. I mean Mulder - where is he?"  
  
"He isn't here, but check the house yourself if it will make you feel better. Then we will talk."  
  
Scully pulled out her weapon and did a systematic sweep of the house finding nothing more than the missing articles from her house.  
  
She put her weapon away and walked over to Agnes who was standing by the window looking out.  
  
Scully took a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke. "Agnes, do you know where he is?"  
  
"Perhaps" the woman said looking older by the minute. "Answer me this. Has your partner been acting strangely when he is around a particular woman."  
  
Scully started to shake her head 'no' and then thought back on their last few encounters with Wendy. "Yes."  
  
Agnes sighed and the look of sadness in her eyes grew deeper. "Do you know if by any chance this woman was able to take any of his fluids into her body."  
  
Scully rolled her eyes at Agnes. "Fluids?" she said trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt "Really Agnes, what does Mulder's bodily fluids have to do with anything?"  
  
Agnes said nothing and Scully shook her head thinking that Agnes and Mulder had more in common than she had originally thought.  
  
Scully paused and thought a while before remembering the night when Mulder had pricked his finger. "Mulder pricked his finger and she sucked the blood off of it. I thought she was just trying to seduce him - are you saying there is more to it than that?"  
  
"You were right, my dear, she was trying to seduce him. But she was also working her magic on him. By using his blood she was able to control him by simply touching him."  
  
"Magic?" Scully said trying not to look too disgusted. "Are you trying to tell me that Wendy cast a spell on Mulder? That Wendy is a witch?"  
  
"Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you. She is a witch, a much stronger one than I, who likes to use more black magic than white."  
  
"How can you say that?" Scully demanded  
  
"Because I am her mother." Agnes said quietly  
  
"Her mother." Agnes cut off Scully before she could say anything more.  
  
"We have no time to waste. If Wendy has seen the way your partner looks at you, then she will have realized that she can never truly have him for her own. Wendy doesn't like to loose - she will kill him like she did the others."  
  
Scully stared at Agnes speechless but after a moment nodded. "Okay Agnes, I guess I have no choice but to believe you. What do you want me to do?"  
  
Agnes smiled very weakly. "My car is already running" She saw Scully's look of puzzlement "I knew you would come to me when Richard - or whatever his real name is - went missing."  
  
"His name is Mulder" Scully mumbled as she walked behind Agnes to the car.  
  
Agnes got in the driver's side with Scully sitting beside her.  
  
"How do you know where to go?" Scully asked slipping on her seatbelt and praying that she wasn't making a mistake going with Agnes.  
  
"I saw it. Just as I saw that Wendy plans to kill him - and she may very well succeed if we don't get to him first."  
  
"But you said her influence on him is only by the use of touch. All we have to do is pull him away from her." Scully said the feeling of panic increasing.  
  
"That is true, unless she has taken a second type of fluid from him. It can be something as simple as a tear or a drop of perspiration and as intimate as."  
  
"I get the general idea" Scully said frowning "but what does it mean?"  
  
"What it means is that she can place an even stronger suggestion in his mind and he will do it without thinking. She can make him do anything."  
  
Scully swallowed hard and looked out the front window. "Where are we going?"  
  
"To the Mile High Bridge" Agnes answered her "From what I saw in my reflecting pan, Wendy means to have him jump off but she also wants you there to witness it. She always was a bit melodramatic."  
  
"So you have known all along about what she was doing? Why didn't you do something to stop her? All those men." Scully's voice trailed off.  
  
Agnes looked a tad guilty when she spoke "Who do you think cast a spell on Lydia and got her to talk to you. I have tried my own magic on her but Wendy is too strong. I did all I could do. I tried to keep the men she had her eyes on away from her and uninterested."  
  
Scully just looked at her and shook her head again. "Believe it or not Dana - that is your real name, isn't it? I managed to keep a good number of men away from her. You and your partner chose to ignore the warnings."  
  
"We were hoping to set a trap" Scully muttered.  
  
"You were hoping to trap me. You had the right theory but the wrong witch."  
  
"It's Mulder's theory. I don't even believe in witches. Or at least I didn't."  
  
They rode in silence for the next ten minutes until they approached a high bridge crossing the Mississippi River. Scully scanned the distance from the bridge itself to the churning waters below it.  
  
If someone survived the fall, they would be consumed within minutes by the current of the river.  
  
The bridge was deserted with the exception of one lone car.  
  
"She's here." Agnes said slowing down her approach towards the bridge.  
  
Scully merely nodded and reached for her cell phone. Within seconds she was in contact with the local Bureau office and had told them of her situation and requested backup on the bridge and beneath it.  
  
Agnes continued to drive across the bridge until they were a few yards from where Wendy and Mulder stood.  
  
Both women got out of the car. "Let him go Wendy" Agnes said quietly. "You have let your emotions take charge. It is time to stop."  
  
"Shut up old woman!" Wendy yelled back at her mother. "What do you know? You never even thanked me for killing off that cheating husband of yours."  
  
"That cheating husband was your father." Agnes said quietly.  
  
"Don't you think I know that, don't you think I want to forget that. But I made him pay, just like I am making all of them who broke my heart pay."  
  
Scully motioned Agnes behind her and slowly approached Wendy. "Wendy, I am a Federal Agent as is Agent Mulder. I have requested backup. There is no way you will be able to escape. Let him go - while you still can."  
  
Wendy walked around Mulder possessively. "Do you think I don't know who he is? What kind of fool do you think I am? I knew who you were and believe me it only added to my pleasure when I seduced him."  
  
Scully managed not to wince at the words but continued to move slowly towards her pulling out her weapon as she went.  
  
Scully stopped about a foot from them holding her weapon casually in her hand.  
  
"Wendy, I don't want to hurt you.." she started before Wendy cut her off.  
  
"You know your beloved partner is completely under my control. He mind bends totally to my will."  
  
"I don't believe you" Scully said hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.  
  
"Would you like a little proof?" Wendy said turning to Mulder.  
  
"Kiss me Mulder" she whispered and immediately Mulder pulled her into his arms and gave her a long passionate kiss.  
  
When they parted she gave Scully an evil smile. "Strike her Mulder and take away her gun."  
  
Scully could only gasp as Mulder slapped her hard across the face without showing the slightest hint of emotion. A simple twist of her arm sprung the gun from her hand. He held in loosely in his own hand.  
  
"Well done lover boy." Wendy purred at him. "Now climb up on the railing there and throw yourself in."  
  
Mulder went to do what he was told when Scully yelled out "STOP".  
  
He scream caught his attention and he stopped. Scully took this as a sign of hope and continued.  
  
"Mulder, it's me" she said softly using her normal greeting "You can't do what she says. You have to stay here with me."  
  
Mulder paused and a small spark of recognition lit in his eyes.  
  
Wendy responded quickly before the spell could be broken. "Don't listen to her fool. She is trying to trick you so she can use you and hurt you."  
  
Mulder looked at Scully as if he had never seen her before and was trying to figure out what danger to him she presented.  
  
"That's not true Mulder. I have never hurt you and will never hurt you."  
  
"You aren't going to be fooled by that, are you?" Wendy retorted. "Shoot her"  
  
Mulder looked at Scully and raised her gun and pointed it at her while Wendy kept talking. "Shoot her and then shoot yourself."  
  
Scully looked Mulder directly in the eyes and spoke calmly to him.  
  
"Mulder, don't listen to her. You know me. All you have to do is make yourself remember. When we got stuck up in the Artic and I locked you in the cold storage unit; when you came halfway around the world to rescue me; when you went to investigate that submarine and I had to find a cure to save you - we belong together Mulder. We could never hurt each other for only together we are whole."  
  
"Very touching my dear" Wendy said "all the more reason why you should both die together."  
  
"Do it!" she yelled at Mulder.  
  
Mulder moved back and forth between both women his face showing his attempt to focus his thoughts. He face then went perfectly calm and he fired one shot and collapsed on the ground.  
  
Agnes screamed when the shot went off still not believing that Mulder had pulled the trigger.  
  
Scully too was surprised that Mulder had actually been able to shoot his kidnapper. She rushed over to his crumpled body and since he seemed to be breathing left him and ran over to Wendy yelling for Agnes to dial 911 even though she heard the sounds of sirens approaching.  
  
"Tell them there have been shots fired and that we have two victims and one is an FBI agent. That will get them here even quicker."  
  
Scully rolled Wendy over and was relieved to see that Mulder had been able to shoot her cleanly through the shoulder. She was awake and in considerable pain, but she would live to stand trial for all she had done.  
  
"Mulder" Scully said as she pressed her hand against Wendy's wound to stop the bleeding. "What have you done to him?"  
  
Wendy moaned and then smiled that evil smile again at Scully. "Nothing much. I just told him that if anything should happen to me, he was to go to sleep, just like sleeping beauty."  
  
Try as they might, neither Agnes nor Scully were able to get anything else out of her. Wendy apparently was keen on having the last laugh when it came to Mulder.  
  
36 hours later - Washington DC  
  
Mulder had slept and slept and slept. He had slept through his examination at the hospital in Minneapolis, on the chartered flight back to DC and the entire time he had been hospitalized at George Washington Hospital.  
  
The doctors were stumped. He brain functions appeared to be those of a man in a very deep sleep but they could not rouse him no matter what they tried.  
  
Scully had only left Mulder's side to check in with Skinner and get a few changes of clothes. Other than that, she spent all of her time at his bedside telling him over and over again how sorry she was for assuming the worse about him.  
  
"Come on Mulder" Scully said for what must have been the thousandth time "It's time to wake up. I miss you Mulder. Our work needs you, I need you."  
  
Scully was so wrapped up in her one way conversation with Mulder that she didn't even notice Agnes standing in the doorway until she cleared her throat.  
  
Startled, Scully looked up surprised to see her former neighbor entering the room.  
  
"Hello dear" Agnes said bending over to kiss Scully on the cheek. "I thought I would come here to see if there was any way I could help."  
  
Scully smiled weakly. "Not unless you know of some magic that will break whatever hold Wendy still has on him."  
  
Agnes pulled the extra chair over next to Mulder's bed and sat down, taking his hand in hers.  
  
"I have tried to talk to Wendy but she won't see anyone. Since she will be of no help I tried to replay what happened on the bridge over in mind and to try and think of the key that will unlock the puzzle."  
  
"I have been doing the same thing, but can think of nothing. Figuring out clues from bits and pieces of information is the type of thing he can do" Scully said pointing to Mulder "not me. He has the open mind, I have the closed one."  
  
Agnes patted her hand. "Well, then we will just have to see if we can open it a little bit, won't we?"  
  
Scully looked at her totally confused so she continued. "Dana, I want you to think about what Wendy said to you after Fox here collapsed. Exactly, word for word."  
  
Scully sat back in her chair and closed her eyes forcing herself to relive those terrible moments again. "She said that Mulder would sleep just like sleeping beauty."  
  
Agnes looked at her expectantly waiting for her to make the connection. When Scully shook her head at her and continued to look puzzle Agnes spoke. "I believe the key is in the phrase 'sleeping beauty'."  
  
"Sleeping beauty as in the fairy tale?" Scully asked still quite puzzled.  
  
"Exactly. Wendy always loved fairy tales when she was a little girl. Her favorite was Sleeping Beauty. I think the cure for Sleeping Beauty will work on Fox as well."  
  
Scully frowned as she tried to recall the story. Fairy tales were not her favorite growing up but she still had been exposed to most of them.  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that he will awaken with the kiss from his true love?" Scully said not knowing whether she should laugh or cry at this idea.  
  
"Exactly" Agnes said beaming. "After all, love is the strongest magic of all."  
  
"You have got to be kidding." Scully said "Even if you aren't kidding, how am I ever going to find his true love?" Her thoughts immediately went to Phoebe who was probably floating around Europe somewhere.  
  
Agnes smiled at her as she rose from her chair. "You know your partner well, don't you Dana?"  
  
Scully nodded. "Then look into your heart and his and I am sure you will find the answer. After that, the rest is simple."  
  
Scully looked up at her stunned. Surely Agnes had spent too much time locked up with her magic books to believe such things.  
  
Agnes kissed her cheek again and walked from the room pausing only long enough at the door to say "Trust yourself and him Dana. You won't be disappointed."  
  
With that she was gone and Scully was left alone with her sleeping partner wondering what exactly she was supposed to do with the information Agnes had given her.  
  
Scully picked up Mulder's hand and held it to her cheek. "Oh Mulder, where are you when I need you? This is the kind of puzzle you love to figure out. What should I do? What would you do if you were me?"  
  
She turned his hand over and kissed his palm when suddenly she remembered the way Mulder had looked at her over dinner the night of their first kiss. Mulder, she knew, would take the chance and worry about the circumstances later.  
  
Scully got up and paced around the room a few times trying to think things through. If she kissed Mulder and he woke up, did that mean that she was his true love? If so, could she handle that?  
  
If she kissed him and he didn't wake up would she be able to handle the fact that she wasn't his true love?  
  
"Either way, you are going to be dealing with a basket case" Scully warned Mulder as she positioned herself on the bed so she could look directly down at him.  
  
He looked so peaceful and handsome that Scully found it easier than she thought to lean over and place a gentle kiss on his lips.  
  
She lifted her head and looked at him and could have sworn that she saw his mouth twitch towards the hint of a smile.  
  
"So you liked that Mulder?" she said "Good thing, because here comes another one."  
  
This kiss was longer and with more feeling. Scully was about to pull away and give up when she thought she felt the smallest of movements beneath her lips.  
  
She deepened the kiss and realized that Mulder was beginning to kiss her back.  
  
Scully opened herself to him and felt a surge of joy when Mulder seemed to melt into her.  
  
She finally pulled back and looked down at him. Mulder slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand up and carefully brushed away a single tear that was running down her face.  
  
"Hey" he said.  
  
"Hey yourself" Scully replied.  
  
"How come you never kissed me like that the other 100 times I was in the hospital?" Mulder asked.  
  
Scully just blushed. "It's a long story. I thought it would bring you around."  
  
"Really? I can't wait to hear it." Mulder said pulling himself up in bed. "Tell it to me - all of it."  
  
So Scully did. She told him about him and Wendy at the party (which caused Mulder to blush considerably); her conversations with Agnes; her standoff with Wendy on the bridge and how she had kept him from jumping into the river and how after he shot Wendy she had told Scully that he would sleep like Sleeping Beauty.  
  
Mulder listened carefully and when Scully finished immediately said "So you knew that I had to receive a kiss from my true love to awaken. Very good Scully, I never thought you would have put much validity into a fairy tale."  
  
"Well actually I didn't think of it. Agnes flew all the way out here to put me on the right track."  
  
"All the way out here? Does that mean we are back in DC?" Mulder asked.  
  
"Yes"  
  
"Did you pack up everything in the house?" Mulder asked.  
  
"Of course I did - are you worried I forgot something?"  
  
Mulder leered at her. "Everything? Including the little number you wore the other night?"  
  
Scully didn't answer her only rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"Good" Mulder said smiling from ear to ear. "You can wear it to my coming home party."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of story. any final thoughts? 


End file.
